With the NHL closing in on the halfway point of the 2024-25 season, things are going to get interesting around the league. Playoff races are going to heat up and we are just over two months away from the trade deadline, always a crazy time of year.
Over the last couple of seasons, the Bruins have seen several former players leave whether it was through a trade by GM Don Sweeney or free agency. Currently, two former members of the Black and Gold are generating a lot of buzz these days and for different reasons.
Taylor Hall centered around trade chatter
Former Bruins' left wing Taylor Hall, currently with the Chicago Blackhawks, is creating a lot of buzz when it comes to trade chatter. He was named by two NHL insiders, Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston of The Athletic, as someone who will land with a new team at the deadline and both had different destinations for the former first-round pick.
An unrestricted free agent following the season and currently carrying a $6 million AAV, LeBrun predicted that Hall would end up with the Utah Hockey Club, a team fighting for a Western Conference wild-card spot. Johnston has Hall also landing in the Western Conference but with the Colorado Avalanche. If there was one team that could use Hall to strengthen their offense, it's the Avalanche.
Jake DeBrusk remains on serious heater
Last summer, 2015 first-round draft pick Jake DeBrusk left in free agency for the Vancouver Canucks. He started slow with his new team, but he has been on a tear since the calendar flipped to November. He has 16 goals in 26 games the last two months, incuding what was the game-winning goal for the Canucks in a 2-0 win over the Bruins last month.
On Saturday, DeBrusk tallied his 16th goal of the season in the third period against the Seattle Kraken to give Vancouver a 4-1 lead, which they blew with three Kraken goals in the final five minutes before Seattle picked up the win in overtime. Regardless, DeBrusk is settling in very nicely with his new team and continues to be someone the Bruins miss the most from last season.