When it comes to the Boston Bruins and the NHL trade deadline in March, it remains to be seen which direction general manager Don Sweeney goes. Last March, he had a fire sale with his free-falling club and traded away some key pieces that included Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, and Charlie Coyle, just to name a few.
Some of the returns for those deals have been positive for this year and the future of the team. Earlier this week, Jimmy Murphy of RG reported that one NHL executive told him that the Bruins and Calgary Flames had discussed a deal for Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson. He is someone who is going to generate some interest from a number of clubs, and a trade for him won't come cheap.
On Friday, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast spoke about Andersson and a potential trade link with the Bruins, and it appears that where there is smoke, there is fire.
Elliotte Friedman hints at Bruins interest in Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson
If Boston is going to be a buyer, there are multiple needs they have. A defenseman, a center, and a goal-scoring wing would be at the top of the list. Andersson would solve the first need, and Friedman said that there have been discussions between Boston and Calgary.
"There have been some reports this week about Boston, and I definitely think the Bruins are involved,'' said Friedman. "I think they're in there, but the toughest thing is to tell where it is at a particular moment. When it comes to the Bruins and Flames, I've heard it's on, it's off, it's on, it's off. I know there were some people who thought at one time it was pretty close, then it backed away. We'll see where it goes. There definitely is mutual interest there.''
Friedman went on to say that there is a Feb. 4 trade deadline for the Olympic Break and that both the Flames and Andersson would like to have a deal done before then. That wouldn't be surprising, considering Calgary wouldn't want to lose a potential deal with anyone if Andersson were injured there.
This is something worth monitoring going forward, as Boston has always liked him and he would be a good addition to the backend. He is a free agent this summer, and if there is one thing we know about Sweeney, it's that in these types of situations, trading for a player like this usually works out in an extension. That is something he would need to do here, as the price is going to be a hefty one.