We recently looked at some free agents the Bruins could target to improve their depth scoring. Now we’ll look at some potential trade targets.
For now, we’re going to leave off stars like Jack Eichel, Matthew Tkachuk and Johnny Gaudreau. We wrote about Eichel a couple weeks ago and why it doesn’t really look like the Bruins are serious suitors, and it doesn’t seem like much has changed.
As for Tkachuk, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports there have been “firm denials” pushing back against rumors he wants out of Calgary. There’s probably more of a chance the Flames could trade Gaudreau, his teammate, but it’s hard to imagine the Bruins being players unless they don’t re-sign Taylor Hall. So, cross that bridge if/when it gets here.
Here are six forwards who could be on the move based on recent reports and who could be of interest to Don Sweeney and Co.
Conor Garland
Why is a 25-year-old restricted free agent who just put up 39 points in 49 games even (reportedly) on the trading block? The simplest answer is that the Coyotes are a mess. They need both prospects and picks (specifically a first-rounder this year since they had to forfeit their own), and trading Garland -- a Scituate native -- could be one way to start to restock. There’s clearly tension between him and the team, with Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff recently reporting that Garland’s camp doesn’t believe he is being treated like a core player after they submitted two contract proposals to Arizona without getting any sort of response.
Garland ranked in the top 50 in the NHL in five-on-five points per 60 minutes this season and would provide an immediate upgrade to the Bruins’ middle-six -- either as the third-line right wing next to Charlie Coyle or on the second line with Craig Smith dropping down to the third line. He won’t be cheap to acquire, but you should be able to work out a pretty reasonable contract given that he’s only a restricted free agent (as opposed to the other rumored trade target from Arizona, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, whose contract is an albatross the Bruins would be wise to stay away from). Garland isn’t the big, physical player a lot of Bruins fans want, but he’s highly skilled offensively, and if you watch the highlight-reel below, you wouldn’t be alone if you think, “Hey, that kind of looks a little Brad Marchand-esque.”
Evander Kane
The 29-year-old Kane’s situation is a bit of the reverse of Garland’s. His contract is big ($7 million a year for four more seasons), but he might not cost as much in terms of trade assets. Seravalli reports there was “significant friction” between Kane and his Sharks teammates by the end of this season and that multiple players made that clear to San Jose management in their exit interviews. That’s the kind of stuff that tends to drive prices down and force the team trading the player to just take what they can get. It’s also the kind of stuff that may cause teams to stay away no matter how talented Kane is, but the Bruins might feel like joining a winning team with better leadership would put any issues like that to rest. It’s also possible the Sharks would be willing to retain some salary in order to get more in return.
And, it has to be noted that Kane is still extremely productive. He’s coming off a career high in points per game with 49 (22 goals, 27 assists) in 56 games. He has topped 20 goals in each of the last six seasons and would be up to five 50-point seasons had the last two seasons been full ones. Kane can play either wing and he’s a 6-foot-2, physical power forward who can wreak havoc on the forecheck and around the net.
Viktor Arvidsson, Calle Jarnkrok
(UPDATE: Arvidsson was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday, so cross him off and just focus on Jarnkrok here.)
Friedman reported that he’s heard Arvidsson’s name is popping up in trade discussions as the Predators look to do some retooling. The Fourth Period reports Nashville is also willing to listen to offers for Calle Jarnkrok, so we’ll list them together here. Arvidsson, 28, has three years left on his contract at an affordable $4.25 million per season, while Jarnkrok, 29, has one year left at an even more affordable $2 million.
Arvidsson has generally been the more productive player -- he averaged 31 goals per season from 2016-19 -- but Jarnkrok has actually put up more points each of the last two seasons (this year it was 13 goals and 28 points in 49 games for Jarnkrok vs. 10 goals and 25 points in 50 games for Arvidsson). Jarnkrok is the better defensive player, but Arvidsson is still more talented offensively, and you would expect his shooting percentage to be closer to his career average of 11.4% than the 6.6% he shot this past season.
Rickard Rakell
Rakell was a name that surfaced around the trade deadline, and he’s surfacing again now as the Ducks look to add some younger pieces that can help their rebuild. Rakell hasn’t been the player who scored 30 goals in back-to-back seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18 for a few years now (he had nine goals and 19 assists in 52 games this season), but the good news for any team acquiring him is that he’s also not being paid like that player (he has one year left with a $3.79 million cap hit).
He’s still just 28, but wherever he goes, he’ll have to find a way to get back to burying more chances, as his shooting percentage has dropped significantly in each of the last four seasons -- from 18.6% to 14.8 to 9.3 to 8.1 to 6.3. That despite still ranking in the top 50 in the NHL in individual expected goals, individual scoring chances and individual high-danger chances per 60 minutes at five-on-five.
Warren Foegele
Friedman reported that both Foegele and the Hurricanes want a change, putting the restricted free agent squarely on the trading block. One hang-up here, though, is that Foegele is reportedly looking for more minutes and an opportunity to play higher in the lineup. He has basically played third-line minutes in Carolina, and it’s hard to imagine him having a bigger role than that in Boston. His raw output (10 goals, 10 assists this season; 13 goals, 17 assists last season) doesn’t suggest he deserves a bigger role than that. However, there is reason to believe the former UNH Wildcat has the potential to produce more.
Among the 658 forwards who played at least 200 minutes at five-on-five this season, Foegele ranked eighth in individual expected goals per 60 and seventh in individual high-danger chances per 60. That tells us that he’s a player who gets to dangerous areas and helps create quality chances, but hasn’t been able to turn it into as many goals as you might expect. If the 25-year-old can start to figure out that last step, there could be real value to be had here. Could another mid-20s forward who could probably use a change (Jake DeBrusk) be a possible match in a trade?
All stats via Natural Stat Trick or Hockey-Reference.
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