Bruins Road Trip Offers up Close Look at Potential Trade Targets

For the second time in three weeks, the Boston Bruins are heading out to the West Coast for a three-game road trip. The trip is not starting out on a good note as the Black and Gold have lost first-line right wing Jake DeBrusk to a broken fibula. It is a blow to the NHL’s top team which will now have to rely on their depth until the 14th overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft can get back healthy.

They started the trip out with a 5-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 5, the second-place team in the Pacific Division. The final two stops on the trip feature games against two teams that are near the bottom of the Western Conference standings and will be sellers come the March 3 trade deadline. There are players on both the San Jose Sharks, who the Bruins play on Jan. 7, and Anaheim Ducks, the final game of the trip on Jan. 8, that general manager (GM) Don Sweeney would be interested in adding to his roster for a playoff run in the spring. Here are three players that the Bruins are going to get an up-close look at some possible additions by early March.

Nick Bonino – San Jose

The Bruins are set in their top-nine forward grouping, but an addition on the fourth line is a need with A.J. Greer and Craig Smith, not the answer. In fact, if Sweeney could, he would move Smith, but getting someone to take him is a tough ask. Nick Bonino is a veteran forward that could potentially be a good fit on the fourth line for Jim Montgomery.

In 36 games this season, the 34-year-old Bonino has four goals and 10 points while averaging 16 minutes a night for the Sharks. He is a scrappy left shot that can slide into the middle in a pinch and has won 49.4% of his faceoffs this season. He is in the final year of a two-year, $4.1 million contract that carries a reasonable $2,050 million cap hit. He would be a rental, but with Greer and Smith struggling, Bonino would be worth taking a flyer on with the right deal.

John Klingberg – Anaheim

Some people think that the Bruins are set on defense, but if there is an opportunity to add a good veteran defenseman like John Klingberg, Sweeney would have to consider it. This would be one of those moves that says they are all in for a championship. Prior to the season, Klingberg opened some eyes when he signed a one-year, $7 million contract with the Ducks, but it was clearly a move by Anaheim GM Pat Verbeek knowing he could move him at the deadline and get something in return.