NHL rumors: Bruins looking for center, defenseman before trade deadline originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins are a fascinating team to watch ahead of the March 8 NHL trade deadline.
They are one of the best teams in the league, at least based on their record, and general manager Don Sweeney has been one of the most active and successful general managers in the league for almost a decade when it comes to making good moves at this time of the year.
So, what are the Bruins looking to acquire?
“One thing about Boston, I think they’re looking for a center. I think they’re looking for a defenseman,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said during the Friday episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast with co-host Jeff Marek. “They don’t have picks, right? My feeling was how often can you (make big moves), but I had a few people who pointed out to me, the Bruins actually have players who they can move.”
This trade deadline is different from previous ones for Sweeney because he has rarely, if ever, had this combination of lackluster draft capital, lackluster prospects and minimal salary cap space. CapFriendly has the B’s with just $57,500 of cap space right now.
So if the Bruins want to make genuine upgrades to their roster before this trade deadline, it could require trading players off their own roster, which Sweeney rarely has had to do. He has mostly been able to add veterans at the trade deadline by moving draft picks and prospects.
“Teams out there do believe that the Bruins are trying to upgrade their roster,” Friedman said. “And all you have to do is look at what they are capable of and say, it’s not coming out of the draft, do they really want to deal their top prospects, some of whom have already played in the NHL? I don’t think so. So if they want to make changes, it probably has to come off their roster, and that’s why I think people are looking at (Linus) Ullmark.
“Now, I don’t think it’s impossible — he has some control — but the whole thing is if the Bruins are trying to win the Stanley Cup, then why would you subtract from one of your greatest strengths? And the only thing I can think of there is if they get something they think is so good that they feel they just have to do it. But I’d be very curious to see what that would be. Don’t forget, Ullmark has some control here. He can say ‘sorry’ to certain situations. But again, at this point in time, I’m trying to figure out what they’re thinking, because I do think they’re trying to upgrade. But…