Henri Jokiharju has been a good soldier for the Boston Bruins. He isn't the strongest defensively, and as a puck-moving defenseman, you'd like to see a little more, but there is something to be said for a guy that can take his lumps, sit in the press box for half of the year, and then enter a game and give the team a solid 18 minutes per night.
Jokiharju's time may be short in Boston if the team has to move on from a defenseman, but that doesn't mean he has no value and can't be a good depth piece for a contending team. Let's look at a couple of teams that could use him on the back end.
Anaheim Ducks
The Anaheim Ducks could struggle after the loss of the three veteran defensemen on their right side: captain Radko Gudas, Jacob Trouba, and trade deadline pick-up John Carlson. They currently project to start Tristan Luneau on the right side of their first pair, who has been a stand-out AHLer but nowhere near the presence of any of the exiting veterans.
Jokiharju wouldn't bring that presence either, but simply put, the Bruins have too many NHL defensemen, and the Ducks don't have enough. If there is one team that could use someone who can fill in anywhere in the lineup and play replacement-level defense, it's Anaheim, and Jokiharju can play that role perfectly.
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are another Western Conference team that could remedy the Bruins' defensive abundance because of their lack of NHL bodies. Dallas has some decent defensemen under contract who can play either in the NHL or AHL, but if they want to make another run in the Central Division, they'll need someone like Jokiharju if one of their defensemen goes down.
A Jokiharju addition would be admittedly underwhelming after the team had a deal in place for Zach Werenski this offseason. Still, if they're going to get desperate in pursuit of adding the depth, the Bruins should pounce.
Carolina Hurricanes
Would the defending Stanley Cup Champions have any interest in adding Jokiharju to shore up their depth? With Alexander Nikishin's contract situation giving the team plenty of headaches, the next defender in line to get top-six minutes is Joel Nystrom. He isn't the worst replacement after playing 38 games for the team last season, but that has to make the coaching staff and front office a little concerned.
Let's big-brain this for a second. Nikishin and the Bruins had some reported links early this offseason when the Hurricanes began to shop him. It's not like it would be a one-for-one deal, but could the Bruins put together a package that includes Jokiharju to get Nikishin in return?
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