There are still nearly three months until the NHL’s March 3 trade deadline, but that hasn’t stopped some rumors from beginning to heat up, including one involving the Bruins.
On Tuesday, as part of a longer piece on what the Blackhawks might do with franchise icons Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that the Bruins are one of the teams “that have inquired about Toews.” He names the defending champion Avalanche as another.
Kane and Toews are both in the final year of their contracts, and the Blackhawks are once again going nowhere this season, as they currently have the second-worst record in the NHL at 7-16-4. Pagnotta reports that Kane, Toews and their agent, Pat Brisson, are expected to meet with Chicago management sometime in January to discuss their options and whether either or both players want to be traded to a Stanley Cup contender. Both have full no-trade clauses and can dictate where they might want to go.
As it relates to the Bruins, it shouldn’t be surprising if they’ve at least checked in. They’re obviously trying to win a Cup, and faced with uncertainty beyond this year, Don Sweeney and company wouldn’t be doing their jobs if they weren’t at least kicking the tires on anything that might make them better this season.
It does seem a little odd that Pagnotta only has them linked to Toews and not Kane, although that doesn’t necessarily mean they wouldn’t be interested in Kane. Toews will presumably be cheaper to acquire than Kane, and it’s possible the Bruins might also view the 34-year-old Toews as a potential bridge at the center position for another couple years should Patrice Bergeron and/or David Krejci retire after the season.
How the Bruins would acquire Toews (or Kane) is another story. They both have a $10.5 million cap hit, which is way out of the Bruins’ price range. The Bruins currently have about $50,000 in cap space, according to CapFriendly. While they will accrue more before the trade deadline, it won’t be that much more.
The Blackhawks can retain up to 50% of the cap hit, which is probably going to be a necessity in Toews’ case, in particular, given that he’s no longer the player he was in his prime. The Bruins could even get a third team involved to retain another 50% of what’s left, meaning in theory they could get Toews for just 25% of his cap hit, or $2.625 million.
Of course, you have to give up more in terms of draft picks/prospects/players to get that done. A third team isn’t going to take on a $2.625 million cap hit just out of the kindness of their hearts. The Lightning did this in their 2021 trade for David Savard and had to throw in an extra fourth-round pick to get the Red Wings to take on a little over $1 million as the third team.
The Bruins could potentially take on more salary themselves if they’re able to move out some salary at some point, be it in the form of Mike Reilly, Craig Smith or someone else. They may have to include another asset just to move those guys, though.
At some point, it certainly becomes debatable whether the assets the Bruins would have to give up to make the financials work would even be worth it. There is also a public relations angle to this, as neither Toews nor Kane covered themselves in glory with their public comments during the Blackhawks’ sexual assault scandal last year. In the wake of the Mitchell Miller debacle earlier this season, the Bruins could be hesitant to invite any sort of questions at all about something like that.
So, to recap: The Bruins have reportedly “inquired” about Toews, and that shouldn’t be surprising. There’s no indication that there’s been anything resembling real trade negotiations yet. It’s possible there never will be. If there are, the Bruins would have their work cut out for them when it comes to figuring out a way to make such a trade work.
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