If the Boston Bruins struggle out of the gate and their age, secondary scoring and lack of depth on the blue line comes back to bite them, would a swing for the fences to acquire some of Colorado’s top prospects be worth losing their franchise goaltender?
The Boston Bruins have had sustained success in the NHL for the past decade. They still remain a great team in the National Hockey League, but lost two defensive stalwarts in Torey Krug and our captain Zdeno Chara. Don Sweeney also failed to find that secondary scoring punch specifically on David Krejci‘s right wing. This season will certainly be an interesting one for this Boston Bruins organization and will be a great window into if the Bruins are still a team that can compete with the best in the NHL.
The East Division is absolutely stacked and if the Boston Bruins can not get off to a fast start they will be playing catch up for the remainder of the shortened season. If the Bruins struggle early and don’t see a clear path to a playoff run, there will have to be a point where the front office weighs trading their impending UFAs as well as other assets that could bring back returns to help them for seasons to come.
One of the most interesting impending UFAs is 2020 All-Star, Jennings Trophy winner and Vezina runner-up Tuukka Rask. After leaving the Toronto Playoff Bubble, rumours started to pick up on Rask’s future with the Boston Bruins.
Tuukka Rask is far from a lock to return in 2022 and if the Boston Bruins are out of the mix and don’t want to lose one of the best goaltenders in the league for nothing, management should look at potential deals that could bring in valuable assets for the Finn.
One team that would have serious interest in the Boston Bruins goaltender – The Colorado Avalanche.
The Boston Bruins are a good team in the NHL, but when we’re talking about absolute wagons, the first team that comes to mind is the Colorado Avalanche.
Early favourites to lift the Stanley Cup after this season, Colorado has officially entered the win-now mode. After years of rebuilding and garnering young assets, the Avalanche have become a powerhouse in this league. The most frightening part is that their prospect pool is still one of the strongest in the NHL.
The Avalanche’s most glaring weakness as things stand would have to be the goaltending position. Phillip Grubauer is a decent goalie, but one that has shown he may not be enough to get Colorado over the playoff hump and eventually compete for a Cup. If the Colorado Avalanche decided to go all-in and officially enter the conversation as an NHL juggernaut, Tuukka Rask could be the answer they need.
The Trade
Talk about a blockbuster deal. This is a wicked trade for both sides even if Boston Bruins fans don’t see the immediate return.
The Colorado Avalanche are getting an all-star goaltender who immediately gets them to unbeatable status coming out of the Western Conference.
The Boston Bruins get a really solid young defenseman in Ryan Graves who has size and skill and will be able to shore up a left side of the defence that was ravaged by the departures of Krug and Chara. This is a guy who will lay the body and block shots, but also can play on the offensive side of the puck. Bruins hockey at its finest.
Martin Kaut is an extremely solid and exciting RW prospect for the Colorado Avalanche. The Boston Bruins are loaded with center prospects but lack young natural wing players in the system. Another guy with good size, Kaut is a great shooter and passer. He could challenge for a roster spot with the Colorado Avalanche this season. Here’s a guy who could be the savior for Krejci’s RW.
A first-round pick for good measure would help the Boston Bruins stock their talent pool for the future.
There are so many trade combinations that could be put together from the Colorado Avalanche’s perspective as their young talent pool is just ridiculously stocked. The deal above though would really plug some holes and add depth to the Boston Bruins thinnest positions.
The ideal scenario would be the Boston Bruins run the East Division and become buyers near the trade deadline. If things aren’t quite as pretty though, a knock on Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic’s door would be a great play by Don Sweeney and the Bruins front office. The Avalanche’s biggest weakness could turn into a massive Bruins gain.