Training camp is right around the corner for the Boston Bruins, and there are still some needs that they have for their lineup. One of their biggest needs this summer was addressed by general manager Don Sweeney.
The Bruins acquired wing JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round draft picks right before the Entry Draft back in June. He fills a top-six need for a goal-scoring wing, but there is still a need for a defenseman and a top-six center. Here are three trade targets that could fill one Black and Gold need before training camp begins.
Alexander Nikishin
There is still a big need for a top-four defenseman for the Bruins, as Sweeney tried to address it with a trade for Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers, but that deal reportedly fell through on July 1. Boston did acquire Will Borgen from the New York Rangers, but that isn't the big move on the back end that they need.
There have been rumblings that the Carolina Hurricanes could move defenseman Alexander Nikishin, as he still doesn't have a contract. The 24-year-old is someone the Bruins should pursue, and if it means parting ways with either Mason Lohrei or Matthew Poitras, who still doesn't have a contract either, then it's something that needs to be considered.
Kent Johnson
The 25-year-old pivot has been in trade rumors this summer, and there really isn't an indication that the Columbus Blue Jackets would trade him, but again, there are prospects that the Bruins have who could entice the Blue Jackets to consider moving him. Johnson took a step back last season with sevne goals and 15 assists, one year after scoring 24 goals and dishing out 33 assists for Columbus. A change of scenery could do him some good.
Shane Wright
Again, it's not every day that you could potentially pick up the fourth overall pick from an Entry Draft just four years after he was selected, but if there was ever a change-of-scenery candidate, it's Shane Wright with the Seattle Kraken.
He has yet to come close to reaching his potential, and if there is a team that has had some luck with players coming to a new place and finding their potential, it's the Bruins, with Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie as two obvious examples. He would fill a need the Black and Gold have down the middle. Wright has been linked to trade rumors before, and you get the feeling that he'll be moved sooner rather than later.
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