If the Boston Bruins had any second thoughts about their plans for Pavel Zacha this season, his start to the year has done nothing to address them. The Czech center has bounced back nicely after going pointless in his first five games, with nine in his last nine, but playing next to David Pastrnak that entire time tends to do that to every player.
Despite the offensive output, some parts of Zacha's game are concerning. For starters, four of his six assists are secondary helpers, which takes some of the value out of the points. Still, his off-puck play and overall contributions are something you can't get from bloated analytics, especially for a player playing next to Pastrnak and on the first powerplay unit.
Zacha has looked a step slower this season, whether it's because he's nearing 30 or because an injury has already kept him out of a game. If it's the injury, the Bruins can look past it, but something tells me it might not tell the whole story, since he didn't look that good before missing the game, either.
The question the Bruins have to ask is whether someone else can step into Zacha's spot and do the same job. I believe Fraser Minten could do it, which would leave them trying to fill his role further down the lineup, but a player like James Hagens might also deserve a look. However, this is about finding fits for Zacha elsewhere, and one player out West catches my eye.
Kings are a potential landing spot for Pavel Zacha
For whatever reason, the Los Angeles Kings can't accept defeat and go through a rebuild. No matter how slow and static their offense looks, Ken Holland's team will keep trying to squeeze blood from a stone. They do need help in the middle of the ice, and as they grow frustrated with Quinton Byfield, I have to wonder if there is a deal to make.
Byfield, at 6-5 and 225 lbs, is the exact type of center Don Sweeney and Cam Neely would be salivating over. He may not play to that size all the time, but you have to appreciate the upside and wonder whether a new system or change of scenery could help him. He's also shown he can elevate his game in the postseason, and averaging around 50 points over the past three seasons isn't terrible offensive output.
Most importantly, he will be making $6.25 million for two more seasons after this one. If a team is going to pay Zacha over $10 million a year and the Bruins aren't willing to do that, I'd much rather see what Marco Sturm can get out of Byfield for the next two seasons at $6.25 million.
The 24-year-old fits perfectly with the current group age-wise, and it’d be hard to beat a future forward core of Byfield, James Hagens, Fraser Minten, JJ Peterka, Dean Letourneau, Marat Khusnutdinov, and an older David Pastrnak.
It would take more pieces to make a Zacha-for-Byfield swap work, but with rumors that the Kings may want that kind of deal for Elias Pettersson, I’m intrigued by the idea of them pivoting to Zacha instead.
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