After weeks of everyone just kind of waiting for trades to start happening, the action has finally picked up this week ahead of Monday’s 3 p.m. deadline.
It started on Monday with the Avalanche acquiring defenseman Josh Manson from the Ducks, but Wednesday was by far the busiest day yet.
The Sharks locked up Tomas Hertl on an eight-year extension, taking arguably the best potential trade target off the board. The Panthers got defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Canadiens, the Flames landed forward Calle Jarnkrok from the Kraken, and the Rangers added East Longmeadow native Frank Vatrano in a deal with Florida.
The Bruins have been linked to plenty of names, including some of those no longer available, but have yet to strike. It’s a safe bet that Don Sweeney will do something over these next four days. The question is what.
We thought it would be worthwhile to rank some of the realistic targets still on the board in terms of how the Bruins should prioritize them.
Before we do that, we should note a couple players we’re currently counting as unrealistic. One is Claude Giroux, who reportedly won't accept a trade to the Bruins and is down to either the Florida Panthers or Colorado Avalanche. For the record, we had Giroux penciled in at No. 2 on this list before that news broke late Thursday night. Oh well.
We're also leaving off Vancouver forwards J.T. Miller and Conor Garland. The surging Canucks, who are now knocking on the door of a playoff spot, have made it clear they’d prefer to keep Miller, who is under contract for another year after this. The same could be true for Garland, who is signed through 2026. At the very least, it’s safe to say they would need to be blown away to move either.
On to the list…
1. Jakob Chychrun, LHD, Arizona Coyotes
Chychrun injured his ankle during Saturday’s game in Boston, but it turned out to not be as serious as initially feared, and he is expected to miss no longer than two weeks. The injury has apparently not killed his trade market. TSN’s Darren Dreger reported that there is “still a strong chance” he is traded and adds that the Bruins and Kings remain “in the hunt.” The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa used similar language, reporting that the Bruins “believe they are in the hunt” for Chychrun. They should be. Chychrun is 23 years old, he’s 6-foot-2, he finished 10th in Norris Trophy voting last season, and he’s signed through 2025 with a team-friendly $4.6 million cap hit. His offensive numbers are down from his 18 goals last season, but those were starting to rebound with five goals and five assists in his last six games before getting hurt. His defensive metrics have still been good on a bad Coyotes team. Any package to get Chychrun likely includes a first-round pick, one of Boston’s top two prospects in Fabian Lysell or Mason Lohrei, and a couple more pieces. Chychrun is the kind of player worth doing that for, and having him locked up as the Bruins’ top left-shot D would make giving up Lohrei (also a left-shot D) slightly easier to swallow.
2. Hampus Lindholm, LHD, Anaheim Ducks
Lindholm is reportedly open to discussing an extension with any team that trades for him, if he doesn’t sign with the Ducks first. It sounds like those two sides are still at an impasse, though, with Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reporting that Anaheim is now preparing to trade him. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reported on Thursday that the Ducks’ asking price in a trade would be a first-round pick, a “Grade A top prospect” and another piece. If the Bruins believe they can get an extension done with Lindholm, that might be worth it. He’s 28 years old and the kind of all-around, minutes-eating left D with size and some offense that they’ve been looking for. If he’s just a pure rental and the Bruins don’t think they can re-sign him, though, that price is too high.
3. Mark Giordano, LHD, Seattle Kraken
Giordano is much more of a clear-cut rental than Chychrun or Lindholm given that he’s 38 years old and a free agent after the season. That should make him a little more affordable, and he is almost certainly getting moved. The Kraken are already holding Giordano out of games to avoid any last-minute injuries. They reportedly want a first-round pick for him, which is fair based solely on the fact that Montreal got a first (and more) for a worse player in Ben Chiarot, but it’s unclear if anyone’s going to give them that. Giordano may no longer be the player who won the Norris three years ago, but he’s still a really solid two-way defenseman who can play 20-plus minutes a night and play on both special teams units. His veteran leadership as a longtime captain is an added bonus. It’s easy to envision Giordano being a good fit next to either Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo. Seravalli reports that the Bruins are in fact interested in Giordano, but that he may prefer to go to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.
(As an aside, we did not include Seattle right wing Jordan Eberle on this list. While the idea of a Giordano-Eberle package would be very appealing -- and expensive -- for the Bruins, there has been no indication that the Kraken have any interest in trading Eberle, whom they have signed for two more years after this.)
4. Jacob Middleton, LHD, San Jose Sharks
“Where did this Middleton guy even come from” has been a bit of a running joke since the Bruins were first linked to the 26-year-old defenseman, seemingly out of nowhere, last week. On one hand, it’s a fair question. Middleton spent most of the last five seasons in the AHL and only this year established himself as an everyday NHLer. On the other, his play this season warrants the attention. He has been a good defender and penalty-killer for the Sharks and has formed a nice pairing with Erik Karlsson, who has been better with Middleton than without him. Middleton is also 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds and brings some physicality and nastiness the Bruins could use at the back. He has a cap hit of just $725,000 and will be a restricted free agent after the season. That means the Bruins would have some control over him beyond this year, but it also means the Sharks don’t have to trade him. The three defensemen above Middleton on this list are more experienced and much more proven, but Middleton would be a solid fallback plan. TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported that the Sharks are looking for a second-round pick and another pick or prospect, which seems a bit steep but not completely outrageous. Middleton’s salary makes it easy (at least from a financial perspective) to add another player or two in addition to him.
*5. Reilly Smith, RW/LW, Vegas Golden Knights
We’re putting an asterisk here because Vegas put Smith on injured reserve (but not long-term IR) this week with a knee injury. They haven’t said anything about his timetable. If it does turn out to be longer-term, there’s no point in trading for him. But if it’s something short-term, a reunion between Smith and the Bruins could make a lot of sense, especially if they do trade away DeBrusk. They never should have traded him away back in 2015, as Smith has produced pretty much every year since then while the Bruins have been cursed with a revolving door of wingers. He has 16 goals and 22 assists in 56 games this season, but the Golden Knights have serious cap issues, especially if they want to bring back Mark Stone from long-term IR before the end of the regular season as they battle for their playoff lives. Smith, who has a $5 million cap hit and is a free agent after the season, would be a natural contract to move. He would be an upgrade over DeBrusk, he’s better than the next two players on this list, and we know he can play with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand because the three of them were a very good line for two years from 2013-15.
6. Andrew Copp, C/W, Winnipeg Jets
There have now been a few reports linking the Bruins to Copp, whom they’ll see firsthand Friday night in Winnipeg. He’s certainly a few steps down from Giroux, but he’s a good player who can play in any situation and play all three forward positions. That versatility is especially appealing, as the Bruins could give Copp a shot anywhere in their lineup, especially if there’s an injury or if someone like DeBrusk (if he’s still here), Haula or Trent Frederic goes cold. Long considered a good defensive forward, the 27-year-old Copp has added a little more offensive pop the last couple years, including 13 goals and 19 assists in 54 games this season. He is an unrestricted free agent after the season and shouldn’t cost a ton.
7. Rickard Rakell, RW/LW, Anaheim Ducks
Could the Bruins do some one-stop shopping with Anaheim and land both Lindholm and Rakell in a package? If DeBrusk’s salary is going the other way and the Bruins are willing to part with enough other assets, it could make sense. One concern with Rakell would be that, according to New England Hockey Journal’s Kirk Luedeke, he is not willing to discuss an extension with a new team and would test free agency this summer. Rakell also is no longer the player who topped 30 goals in back-to-back seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18, although his goal-scoring has at least bounced back a bit from last year (16 goals in 51 games this season vs. nine in 52 last year). The Bruins should view Rakell as basically a 1-for-1 swap for DeBrusk; the question is whether the Ducks would view it the same way.
8. Calvin de Haan, LHD, Chicago Blackhawks
We wrote last week that de Haan “is going to be a sneaky good depth rental for some contender.” Well, maybe that contender will be the Bruins. Seravalli reported on Thursday that the Bruins are “eyeing” the veteran. He adds that the Blackhawks are looking for a second-round pick in return. The Bruins and others might prefer to knock that down a round, but de Haan is certainly worth considering, especially if they miss out on the bigger names on D. A 6-foot-1, 30-year-old left shot, de Haan is a steady defender and solid enough puck-mover who could upgrade the Bruins’ third pair and probably not look out of place if they slid him up higher in the lineup.
9. Justin Braun, RHD, Philadelphia Flyers
While the Bruins appear to be out on Giroux, they could still be interested in another Flyer. Braun isn't going to be a major needle-mover and he can't be Sweeney's primary deadline move, but he'd be a nice second or third move behind something more impactful. The 35-year-old UMass product is still a stout defender who's playing 20 minutes per game this season, is one of the few Flyers making a positive defensive impact, is a good penalty-killer, and has even chipped in a respectable 15 points. He'd provide some depth on the right side of the defense that the Bruins don't really have right now, and he'd be a veteran who could compete with Connor Clifton for playing time.
10. Paul Stastny, C/LW, Winnipeg Jets
Stastny is still a good player at age 36. He has 17 goals and 14 assists in 52 games this season. The question for the Bruins, though, would be one of fit. Stastny is playing more left wing than center these days. His skating might no longer be at a level that could keep up with Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak on the second line. Upgrading from Trent Frederic at third-line left wing certainly isn't the worst idea in the world, but the Bruins would prefer someone who can also play on the right next to Bergeron and Marchand in the event that DeBrusk gets traded or goes cold. To that end, Copp, Rakell and Smith (if his injury isn't serious) would be better fits.
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