The Boston Bruins will be looking to do everything they can to improve their team. There’s no question about that.
And so, it shouldn’t be surprising to hear rumblings about Don Sweeney looking to do his best to find suitable pieces, particularly to provide more scoring behind superstar David Pastrnak.
That’s why the Bruins’ reported pursuit of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Kirill Marchenko shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
In the latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman revealed the Bruins have done more than just kick the tires on the three-time 20-goal scorer.
“I heard Boston made an offer at one point.”
All right, so that’s about as cryptic as it gets.
First of all, we don’t know when this offer happened. Did it happen before or after the JJ Peterka trade? Considering what it would take to land Marchenko, there’s a good chance that the offer happened before Boston eventually landed the German forward.
Please bear in mind that the Bruins paid two first-round picks for Peterka. So, you would have to think that the offer for Marchenko happened before the Peterka trade. If the offer came after the Peterka deal, well, you have to wonder what the Bruins could have offered for the 26-year-old forward.
Landing Marchenko won’t come cheap for Bruins
Here’s the most interesting part of this rumor: Since we don’t know when the offer happened or what was offered, we can only guess based on what the Blue Jackets have said about the state of their team.
The Blue Jackets have made it clear they are not rebuilding. As such, the idea of jettisoning a 30-goal scorer for picks and prospects does not jive with the organization’s philosophy at this point.
That situation makes you wonder what the Bruins could surrender that would satisfy the Blue Jackets’ desire to remain a competitive team.
Perhaps Matthew Poitras might be a part of the deal? Maybe Casey Mittelstadt? Would Pavel Zacha have been a piece going the other way?
Mittelstadt might actually be the most intriguing piece the Bruins could offer as something close to a replacement for Marchenko. However, Boston would have to do a lot more than that to land Marchenko.
Ultimately, this entire conversation seems entrenched in the world of what-if. But now that the Blue Jackets have signed Adam Fantilli, there could be a serious desire to trade Marchenko. And if Columbus grows impatient, there might just be a desire to get something done.
That’s why Bruins fans shouldn’t be surprised to hear the club circling back to Marchenko at some point.
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