It is still too early to tell how much truth there is to the rumors that Mathew Barzal is on the trade block for the New York Islanders. With Peter DeBoer taking over as head coach with five games remaining in the season, this offseason will likely be the time when we see the roster start to take shape under his identity. With New York falling short at times over the past few seasons, it wouldn't be too surprising to see a shake-up in their core.
The Boston Bruins had a chance to take Barzal in the 2015 draft, which doesn't need to be revisited. Don Sweeney had an unprecedented three first-round picks in a row, and essentially swung and missed on all three, depending on how you feel about Jake DeBrusk's Boston tenure. The list of players taken after the Bruins' selections included Barzal, Kyle Connor, Thomas Chabot, Joel Eriksson Ek, Travis Konecny, and Brock Boeser.
Would the Bruins have put themselves in a position to win a couple of more Stanley Cups if they had taken three of those players instead of DeBrusk, Jakub Zboril, and Zach Senyshyn? At risk of breaking fans' hearts even more than it already did, the answer to that question is a resounding "yes". While there is no sense in crying over spilt milk now, Sweeney does have a chance to make right on one of those mistakes this offseason.
If Barzal is on the trade block, he would be the perfect player to help supplement Boston's needed center depth. It might come 10 years too late and at the expense of a couple of assets when they could've had him for free, but fans shouldn't hold any ill will toward Sweeney if he is able to add a center that has averaged a point per game in a couple of seasons.
Inserting someone into the lineup to play alongside David Pastrnak and push Elias Lindholm into more of a complementary role (where he did play well at times this season) is exactly what the Bruins need. Ironically, another hole they could fill is on the right wing, and Boeser, another 2015 draft miss, is potentially on the trade block like Barzal.
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