Now that the Olympics are over, the NHL roster freeze has been lifted. It is going to be a busy next 11 days before the trade deadline on March 6 at 3 p.m. EST. It is going to be a fascinating deadline once again for the Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney.
One year after selling with a fire sale and getting some good pieces back in return, the Bruins will begin the post-Olympic break holding down the final Eastern Conference wild card spot. Still, there is the real possibility that the Black and Gold could be buyers and sellers over the next 11 days. With that said, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe floated the idea of Boston reuniting with a former forward who would fit head coach Marco Sturm's system.
Bruins reporter links Boston to former forward Ryan Donato
Last season Donato had a season that not many people saw coming, which earned him a four-year contract extension with an AAV of $4 million with the Chicago Blackhawks. Donato had 31 goals and 31 assists, which were career highs. This year he has come back to earth with just 13 goals and 12 assists. Could Chicago move him? Dupont floated the idea.
"More committed to strength and conditioning now than during his days in Boston when fresh off the Harvard campus, Donato, 29, could be a comfortable, versatile fit in Marco Sturm’s top six. In many ways (size, speed, production) his game mirrors what Sturm brought to the ice in his playing days,'' wrote Dupont.
Truth be told, adding Donato feels like it would be adding another bottom-six forward to this Boston roster. It feels like Sturm already has a long list of them. Yes, they are having a good season, and some are overperforming, but it feels like what Donato would be.
His AAV is not a bad one to take on, and maybe a change of scenery might help him, but what also what else would come into play is the package going back. Could there be a deal with defenseman Connor Murphy involved as well? Would Viktor Arvidsson or Andrew Peeke be someone the Blackhawks would take back as part of a deal on expiring contracts? Things are about to get interesting in the NHL with the Olympics over.