For all the talk about the Nikita Kucherov trade request, one thing is becoming increasingly clear: The Boston Bruins could very well be a realistic landing spot or the Hart Trophy winner.
That’s not wishful thinking. It could very well become a reality given the current Lightning player’s desires.
According to a recent report by RG, a source stated Nikita Kucherov’s wish to play with an elite superstar in a major market. Those particular criteria pointed to three specific names: Connor McDavid in Edmonton, David Pastrnak in Boston, and Auston Matthews in Toronto.
While a Kucherov-McDavid combo or a Kucherov-Matthews partnership would be something hardly ever seen before, it’s the Pastrnak-Kucherov match that would give the Art Ross Trophy winner something truly unique.
“He wants to be the top scorer every year and play on a team with McDavid or Matthews or Pastrnak, plus in a big market, so people talk about how good he is,” the source told RG. “Playing in Florida, people forget about you from time to time.”
The idea of seeing Pastrnak and Kucherov together is enough to make everyone in the NHL refill their blood pressure meds. Such a combination would very virtually impossible to stop, even if it lacked one particular element.
Bruins would still need a center to play with Nikita Kucherov and David Pastrnak
Even with the tantalizing idea of having David Pastrnak and Nikita Kucherov play on the same line, both are wingers. As such, the Bruins would still need a high-end center to play on the same line.
Now, it’s worth taking a second to think this through. Pastrnak and Kucherov are elite playmakers, and they can also score.
Pastrnak is more of a goal scorer than Kucherov. And that situation means that the Bruins would need a center who’s either a scorer or more of a defensive-minded guy who can recede into the background at times and act as a responsible adult on the line.
Perhaps the latter might be easier to find for Boston. Unless there’s a solid top-six defensive center out there who could hang with both Pastrnak and Kucherov, perhaps a guy like Elias Lindholm might be the best fit.
Lindholm isn’t exactly a flashy guy who could play with two top-tier wingers on the same line. But then again, he is the kind of center who can be trusted to take faceoffs and ensure that there’s always someone there, ready to get back when the puck heads the other way.
Let’s see where this goes. If the Bruins are to have any realistic shot at Nikita Kucherov, it will likely be in free agency, not the trade market.
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