Despite countless rumors of offseason trades involving the Boston Bruins, no moves were made outside of free agency.
As we progress further and further into the month of August, a pretty slow time in the NHL offseason, let’s look at how the Boston Bruins were completely inactive in the trade market.
With rumors and speculation dating back before the 2016 NHL draft, the Bruins were one of the more frequent names you’d see. Names like Kevin Shattenkirk, Dmitry Kulikov, and Matt Dumba floated around, but it looks as though none of them will wear black and gold this year; although one of them is wearing another teams colors in Kulikov. There was very little to no buzz on the Bruins chasing any forwards on the trade market. Due to their inactivity, they will head into the 2016-2017 season with a pretty similar and weak defensive core, minus Dennis Seidenberg and Zach Trotman.
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Bruins names that were mentioned in rumors included David Krejci, Frank Vatrano, Tuukka Rask, David Pastrnak and Ryan Spooner. None of these guys have been moved yet. All are valuable trade commodities and could have been used to acquire the talented puck-moving defenseman that Bruins fans have so anxiously waited for.
Kevin Shattenkirk was the biggest name and the Bruins weren’t the only team linked to him. Other teams interested in his services included the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Arizona Coyotes. The Red Wings and Rangers didn’t get anything done on the Shattenkirk front, the Coyotes added and re-signed numerous defensive pieces.
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From the Bruins perspective, Blues General Manager, Doug Armstrong, was asking for more than what Don Sweeney was willing to give up from the sound of it. Pieces included David Pastrnak, Frank Vatrano, as well as the Bruins two first-round picks, #14 and #29 overall. Shattenkirk will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Some Bruins fans, including myself, may have felt more comfortable with a Shattenkirk trade if he was 100% going to resign in Boston once his contract expires.
Defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, as we all know at this point was traded from the Florida Panthers to the Buffalo Sabres, along with the 33rd overall pick (Rasmus Asplund) during the 2016 NHL Entry Draft. The return was defenseman Mark Pysyk, the 38th overall pick (Adam Mascherin) and the 89th overall pick (Linus Nassen). A Frank Vatrano-level prospect and the 29th overall pick were rumored to be in play in a possible deal. Not a lot of Bruins fans seemed to lose sleep over missing out on the Russian blueliner.
Matt Dumba signed a two-year contract extension with the Minnesota Wild worth $5.1 million on July 28. Dumba was a restricted free agent and the Wild retained him at a very good price for a young defenseman of his caliber. Unlike Shattenkirk and Kulikov, we didn’t hear anything about possible pieces in play or if the Bruins even spoke with Wild General Manager, Chuck Fletcher, about a deal. The Bruins just missed out.
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This by no means rules out a deal before the offseason comes to an end, but it’s unlikely at this point. They could go the professional try-out, or PTO route with very slim pickings for some depth and Kris Russell is still a decent name on the free agent market. Bruins fans have mixed views on Russell, I am fine with the fact that they have not signed him. Despite the offseason moves that have been made, many Bruins fans still wonder, will they watch playoff hockey this year?