Sportsnet NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has been steadfast recently when it comes to what the Boston Bruins primary target on the NHL Trade market.
“I really think they’re going to do something on left D,” Friedman said in the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast.
Just prior to that, co-host Jeff Marek told Friedman that one NHL source recently told him (as reported HERE just under a month ago), that the Boston Bruins will be all in before the NHL trade deadline to make, what is currently the best team in the NHL, even better. As the Jan. 3 Off The Record column here reported, Marek said his source said the Bruins feel they owe it to veteran centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci for coming back for one more run at the Stanley Cup on ultra-team-friendly contracts for this season.
Friedman agreed and also touched on a Boston Hockey Now report from last week that reported that the Vancouver Canucks would want either Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo or winger Jake DeBrusk, a top prospect, and first round pick in any deal with the Bruins for their captain Bo Horvat on the NHL trade market. As pointed out in the BHN report last week though, Friedman suggested, at least for now, it’s highly unlikely that the Bruins would be willing to move Carlo, let alone DeBrusk.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they’re in on some of the bigger left-hand D’s. I know Brandon Carlo’s name has been out there as somebody Vancouver is interested in. I don’t have any evidence at this time to believe that the Bruins are interested in doing that. It’s because Vancouver wants a. …I’m not yet convinced that the Bruins will do that. I’m not sure about that at this time, but the other thing to, and goes to what you said, that they owe them this, look, [Charlie] McAvoy is now at $9.5M AAV, and I’ve got no problem with that, he deserves it, but [David] Pastrnak is about to go from Satan’s $6.66M AAV to probably $11M AAV if they’re going to keep him.
I didn’t have a Pastrnak update last week but as I said, I think it’s been moving. I think the Bruins are really realizing here that they’re going to have to go into territory they didn’t they they’s have to go into. They’re going to have to do it here. I think that adds another layer to what you said and it’s like ‘If we’re going to do it, we’re going to have to do it now.”
If the Boston Bruins are indeed looking to acquire a left-shot defenseman on the NHL trade market, they would likely need to move one as well, since they’re pretty deep on the left side right now. As for left-shot defenseman on the Canucks roster that could be available, defensemen Travis Dermott and Riley Stillman have been bantered about in recent NHL trade rumors. Looking around the NHL, one name that many NHL insiders believe will be traded before the March 3 NHL trade deadline is 6-foot-3, 213-pound Columbus Blue Jackets UFA-to-be defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov.
More must-reads: