Bruins potentially interested in these veteran forwards
With multiple holes that need to be filled out before the season begins, the Boston Bruins have two choices to fill them in.
The first option is that the Bruins look internally, and fill in the cracks with younger, less experienced players and have a less productive season than their previous one.
The second option is that they look externally at who other teams are willing to move, and make a trade for a veteran piece that can, not only help them immediately, but long term.
According to reports, Boston may be leaning towards the latter.
Trade Option 1: Elias Lindholm (Calgary Flames)
On August 23, Boston Hockey Now reported that the Bruins may potentially be interested in trading for Calgary Flames’ center Elias Lindholm despite the Flames making a concerted effort to sign him to an extension.
The 28-year-old center is currently signed through the 2024-25 season with a cap hit of $4.85 million.
If Boston were to trade for him, he would, not only bring with him some veteran presence with him, but also an uncanny ability top-line, right-handed center abilities to the team – something the Bruins severely are lacking in with the losses of Patrice Bergeron, and David Krejci.
Lindholm would slot right in as the first line center easily. In 10 years in the league, he has played in 743 games where he has tallied 203 goals and 310 assists (513 points).
In the 2021-22 season, Lindholm set career-highs in all categories except for penalty minutes. He played in all 82 games, scoring 42 goals and racking up 40 assists (82 points) for an average of one point per game. He also scored five goals and picked up four helpers (nine points) in 12 playoff games.
The trade would reunite also reunite Lindholm with Milan Lucic, but the asking price may be high. Not to mention the cap hit if Boston were to take on some of the salary.
Trade Option 2: Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets)
Another option that would fit the bill for the Bruins, would be Winnipeg Jets’ center Mark Scheifele. Scheifele is coming into the last year of his deal with the Jets. The trick with him, however, is he does carry with him, not only just a $6.125 million cap hit, but also a 10-team no trade list that may or may not include the Bruins.
If he decides to waive it and come to Boston, it would be great news or it could be very bad news.
The good news is that Scheifele is a very similar player to Lindholm in that he could easily fill out the Bruins top-six as a center. In 723 NHL games (all with Winnipeg), he has 272 goals and 373 assists (645 points) to his name.
Scheifele set career-highs last season with 42, while playing in 81 games.
The bad news, however, is that Scheifele could walk after just one season.
Scheifele would add also add some veteran leadership, but considering he is a free agent following the season, the Jets would definitely be looking to get something more than just a few players out of it. Plus with how large his cap hit is, Boston would definitely need to restructure his contract.
Trade Option 3: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks)
Okay, this one might be going out on a limb, but the Vancouver Canucks’ center Elias Pettersson might be a prime candidate for the Bruins to sneak in and swoop up before he becomes a restricted free agent following the season.
Pettersson has recently put his contract talks on hold with the Canucks, reportedly saying he “wants to focus on preparing for the season.” Hmmmm… I don’t know about you, but to me that sounds like someone who wants to explore other options.
Pettersson has a base salary of $10.25 million, but a cap-hit of $7.35 million, and he sits as one of the few stars on a Vancouver team that has struggled to bring in solid players since the departures of Roberto Luongo and retirements of Daniel and Henrik Sedin.
Pettersson remains a potent part of the Canucks offense, along with Quinn Hughes. Pettersson most likely won’t be moved, but if he is, it would be a huge pick up for Boston. Pettersson has scored 136 goals and dished out 187 assists (323 points) in 325 games (ALMOST ONE POINT PER GAME!!!).
He had his best season in 2022-23, where he played in 80 games, and scored 39 goals, and accrued with 63 assists (102 points) to go with it.
Pettersson is the ideal choice out of these three, but his cap hit, combined with what it would most likely take to get him from Vancouver makes the end very hard to justify the means.
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