Bruins: Could Boston work out this deal with this division rival?
By Matt Hawkins
The Boston Bruins have struggled this season to score at 5-on-5. Besides their first line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak, they just haven’t seen much 5-on-5 offense.
In fact, the Black and Gold have struggled to score in general. They have just 77 goals for this season, which is 25th in the league. Of these 77 goals, 36 have come from Boston’s top line. That’s almost 47% of the team’s goals!
A major reason for the B’s issues at 5-on-5 and secondary scoring in general is the lack of a consistent scoring option on the second line. They’ve tried several different options and all have failed to this point.
Jake DeBrusk, who had a stellar rookie season, hasn’t been able to replicate that production and has been far too inconsistent to be a regular in the top-six.
Rookie Jack Studnicka has looked much better at center than wing but still hasn’t been able to consistently put the puck in the net. And with David Krejci and Charlie Coyle on the team, there just isn’t room for him at center in the top-six.
Anders Bjork has the skill and motor to play in the top-six, however, like DeBrusk, he’s just too inconsistent.
Nick Ritchie has proven the doubters wrong, scoring eight goals so far this season when he only scored nine all of last season. However, Ritchie is basically a non-factor at 5-on-5, as over half his goals have come on the powerplay.
Ondrej Kase, although he does all the small things right and plays solid defense, just cannot find ways to produce points and has missed more games than played for the B’s.
The Boston Bruins don’t have to trade for an elite talent.
Many fans have been calling for the B’s to trade for perennial all-stars such as Jack Eichel and Filip Forsberg to fill fix the secondary scoring issues that Boston possesses.
However, I’m here to say this isn’ the case.
I think the B’s best option is to trade for a top-end second liner that could play on the first line of a team that lacks the sure-fire first line talent. These guys are cheaper, both contract-wise and in trade value, and more plentiful.
With the Black and Gold already having elite players across their first line, there just isn’t a reason to over-spend on another for their second line when they’re only in need of a consistent player that can give you 20-25+ goals a season.
That’s why I am recommending for the B’s to inquire about this player.