Boston Bruins: The cost of a Chris Kreider trade is too high as a rental

As much as Chris Kreider would be a perfect fit for a play-off bound Boston Bruins side, adding him as a pure rental would result in a massive over-payment.

With the Tyler Toffoli and Blake Coleman deals, and to a lesser extent the Jason Zucker deal, setting the market; the New York Rangers will be asking a lot if the Boston Bruins want to take Chris Kreider off their hands.

Both the Coleman and Toffoli deals saw highly-rated prospects moved, with Nolan Foote and Tyler Madden landing with the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings respectively. Not only that, they also saw draft picks shifted; a first round pick to New Jersey and a second round one to LA.

Given neither of the lead players in those trades, both of which the Boston Bruins had interest in, have been producing at the same rate as Kreider, you have to imagine the New York Rangers are asking for more.

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With Toffoli also a rental, the Vancouver Canucks had to add a conditional fourth round pick if he renewed there. The first rounder in the Tampa deal is likely due to Coleman still having a year of term left on a very team-friendly contract of just $1.8 million a season.

Unfortunately for Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney; these two deals have single-handedly inflated the trade market.

Straight up, the Boston Bruins would be ill-advised to try to afford the deal that Kreider reportedly is seeking this summer. You hear talk of Kreider asking for $7 million a season with a full 7 years’ term; that puts him aged 35 years old when his deal expires and leaves any team open to ‘a David Backes type’ anchor of a contract lurking around.

NBC Sports Boston reports the asking price by New York, in terms of adding a player that would purely be a rental in Boston, as likely the same as what they got for Kevin Hayes last year.

The Winnipeg Jets coughed up a first round pick and Brenden Lemieux to get that deal done. For the Boston Bruins, looking at AHL statistics this season, the one player anywhere close to Lemieux’s totals last year is Jack Studnicka. That’d be an incredibly steep price to pay.

Perhaps the Rangers would consider someone like Danton Heinen instead, but much maligned as he sometimes is by the fan base; that’s an expensive cost regardless. On the flip, moving him makes it easier to squeeze Kreider’s cap hit in.

Maybe they go for a main roster contract and a slightly lesser prospect that could step into their NHL line-up immediately; say an Oskar Steen, Connor Clifton or Karson Kuhlman. It really is anyone’s guess, not forgetting that the Colorado Avalanche also appear to be heavily in on Kreider and may skew the price further.

As a rental player, Kreider could come in and be a game-changer. He could spark some much-needed consistent secondary scoring; as a local kid and Boston College alumni, there’s little doubt he’d fit right in.

Let’s also not forget he’s good for 23 goals and 19 assists already this season on Broadway. That’d place him behind just three names on the Bruins points chart; David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.

If the Boston Bruins do give up significant assets to add him as a rental; it will be a true sign that we’re going for it again this year and fully intend to go one step further than last year.

A risky play; absolutely. One that’d be worth it for the Stanley Cup; no question about it!