With the NHL trade deadline getting closer by the day, we’ve talked about trade fits previously on here. From Bo Horvat to Noel Acciari, those ideas have been floated. One potential trade fit I want to take a look at today is defenseman Luke Schenn.
Schenn is a right shot defenseman who has been in the NHL for 15 years, spent with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, Arizona Coyotes, Anaheim Ducks, Tampa Bay Lightning, and his current squad, the Vancouver Canucks.
He’s 33 years old and is an effective stay at home defenseman, and given the fact that the Bruins don’t have a lot of right shot depth beyond the top three of Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Connor Clifton, this move would make sense in that regard, especially if one of the three suffers an injury. He’s also incredibly cheap, with an $850,000 cap hit for this season.
So far this season, Schenn has two goals and 14 assists while averaging 17:09 of ice time in 49 games for the Canucks. While 16 points isn’t a lot, it is by his standards, with Schenn just seven points away from setting a new career high in a single season.
Based off those 16 points, you shouldn’t expect Schenn to light up the scoresheet, but he doesn’t have to, and that’s not his game. He’s a physical and hard hitting defenseman, with his 237 hits in 49 games equaling more than four hits per game on average. His 75 blocks average out to a little over one blocked shot per game.
Schenn’s strong defensive numbers can also play on the penalty kill, which, again, would be ever important if one of McAvoy, Carlo, or Clifton went down with injury. His natural right shot ability would also make more sense than putting Mike Reilly or Jakub Zboril on their off-side, and Schenn is just a better player than Anton Stralman.
In terms of cost, Schenn would likely cost the Bruins a mid round draft pick or a mid tier prospect in a trade, which is a trade that’s easy to make because it doesn’t involve a top prospect or first round pick, and it makes a league leading team like the Bruins even better.
So, yes, I think Luke Schenn is someone the Bruins should look hard at acquiring in a trade. He’s a right shot defenseman, solidifies the depth on that side, comes really cheap in terms of the cap, and likely won’t cost a lot to acquire. It makes all the sense in the world if you ask me.