It's a bit interesting that Andrew Peeke hasn't played for the Boston Bruins since returning from the Olympic break. Peeke averaged 17:21 per game during January, and he has been a staple in Marco Sturm's lineup for the entire season. His average time on ice has been decreasing after averaging more than 21 minutes before January, but that makes sense considering Charlie McAvoy's injury.
Henri Jokiharju didn't randomly overtake Peeke on the team's depth chart. The right-shot defender has some value for his defensive abilities, and his struggles on the penalty kill were more of a system problem than a knock on the individual. The team hasn't announced that it is an injury keeping him out, which only leaves roster management as the potential reason.
Peeke figures to get back into the lineup on Tuesday night, which could serve as one final showcase in the wake of a trade. It'll be interesting to see how much Sturm will use him and whether it'll be his last game in a Bruins uniform.
Some teams leave potential trade candidates out of the lineup when the deadline nears. We've seen it recently with the Vancouver Canucks and Tyler Myers, but they announced that was the reason. After Don Sweeney's comments on Monday that he isn't looking to be as much of a seller due to needing depth down the stretch run, it felt like Peeke could stay, but the Edmonton Oilers trade for Connor Murphy could change that.
Connor Murphy trade for Oilers
The Oilers had to send a second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks for Murphy's services. It was a bit of an overpayment according to public opinion. Still, it was the cost of getting the deal done early and also having the Chicago Blackhawks retain 50% of the salary. Peeke is a younger player with a similar style and a candidate to sign him to an extension, which should be compelling for contending teams.
The Oilers were one of the teams where you could see Peeke landing, which is one downside of the Murphy trade. However, there are plenty of other teams that are in the market for a right-shot defender. The Bruins' preference would be to send him to the Western Conference, given their playoff aspirations, as they won't want to make any division rivals better, such as the Buffalo Sabres or Detroit Red Wings.
Regardless of wanting to be a playoff team, Sweeney has to look at this return for the Blackhawks and dream of adding assets while not doing anything detrimental to the team. They are clearly comfortable with Henri Jokiharju as an option for the rest of the season, unless they add a right-shot defender to replace Peeke.