Another day, another trade rumor involving the Bruins. After chatter around defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Luke Schenn heated up over the weekend, Boston is now being linked to a forward as well.
Andy Strickland, the rinkside reporter for Blues broadcasts on Bally Sports Midwest and co-host of "The Cam & Strick Podcast," reported on Tuesday that the Bruins are among the teams that are "very interested" in St. Louis forward Ivan Barbashev.
Barbashev is an interesting case because there has been a pretty big variance in his production over the last couple years, which could lead to differences in how he's valued, not to mention what he might actually bring to his next team.
Barbashev had a breakout season last year, recording 26 goals and 34 assists for 60 points in 81 games. A bunch of that production (17 goals and 28 assists) came at 5-on-5, so it's not like it was some fluke driven by a new power-play role.
This year, however, Barbashev has taken a step back, with nine goals and 15 assists in 52 games. His 23.4% shooting percentage last year was always going to be unsustainable, so the dip in goals isn't totally surprising. But his primary assists are also way down -- from 23 last year to seven this year.
Still, Barbashev's talent and ceiling, along with some physicality he can bring, understandably make him an attractive third-line option for a contender like the Bruins, who would probably be of the mindset that Barbashev can bounce back on a better team.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery is also very familiar with Barbashev, having coached him during his two years as an assistant in St. Louis from 2020-22, a stint that coincided with Barbashev's breakout. Montgomery could have a good idea of how to unlock that next level of Barbashev's offense again.
The 27-year-old Barbashev, who won a Cup with the Blues in 2019, has a cap hit of $2.25 million and is an unrestricted free agent after the season. The Bruins could certainly explore extending him, and probably at a price that wouldn't be crazy given the drop in production this year.
The Blues have already traded away Vladimir Tarasenko and Niko Mikkola to the Rangers, so they are clearly in full-on sell mode. Strickland reports that Barbashev has "probably generated the most interest" of what remains for players they're likely to trade.
Barbashev, a left shot, can play wing or center, although he really struggles on faceoffs (39.2% this season, 42.5% for his career). He has always been billed as a responsible two-way player, but that is not reflected in his defensive analytics, which have always been pretty poor (see below).
As with any trade possibility, whether or not Barbashev makes sense for the Bruins likely comes down to the price. The Blues might want something that reflects what Barbashev showed last year -- like a first-round pick or top prospect -- but that would be a pretty big risk for any team to take given that it's entirely possible that last year was just an outlier for Barbashev. At a more reasonable price, though, Barbashev could be a nice addition to Boston's bottom six.
The Blues have a couple other forwards that could interest the Bruins and other contenders as well. Ryan O'Reilly would be the biggest name, but teams might want to see what he looks like as he returns from injury. He was having a really down year (11 goals, 6 assists in 38 games).
Another good bottom-six option, and one that would probably cost less than Barbashev, would be former Bruin Noel Acciari. Acciari can also play wing or center, brings even more physicality, and is much better on faceoffs. He doesn't have the same offensive upside that Barbashev would, though.