An underrated familiar face the Boston Bruins should acquire in an early season trade

With the trade deadline still far away, many teams could take their respective time in making specific acquisitions, but for those who find themselves struggling early, the sooner, the better. The Boston Bruins find themselves in the latter category, heading into Tuesday with a 4-4-1 record, good for just nine points. 

Obviously, we wanted to see more out of the Bruins, but sometimes fate isn’t on a team’s side, or at least that’s the case now. They’re also struggling on both ends of the ice in goals scored and goals against. Going into their game Tuesday vs. the Philadelphia Flyers, the Bruins are just 19th in the NHL with 27 goals for and 20th in goals against, with 32.

The minus-5 goal differential indicates they need someone to either step up or make an early-season acquisition to help ease the pain. One player is a forward that few will think of because of their rather marginal production. However, if the Bruins acquired and kept them on the lower lines, they would benefit the cause and put these early-season struggles to sleep. 

Boston Bruins could benefit from acquiring an underrated forward early

The forward in question is Ryan Donato of the Chicago Blackhawks, who has enjoyed a bit of a renaissance in the Windy City lately. While Donato could ultimately factor into Chicago’s long-term plans, they don’t appear to have the makings of a playoff contender this season, meaning middle-aged players like Donato could be heading elsewhere. 

While the Hawks may demand more value for Donato if he keeps up his solid play (five points and four goals in the last four games), the former Bruin could ultimately make for a bargain deal for Boston. Plus, he could factor in as a depth scorer if he keeps finding the net and provides yet another physical edge to further play into Boston’s identity. 

What I really like about Donato is how well he’s been moving the puck this season in Chicago, with a Corsi For at even strength of 47.4 despite 39.1 percent of his starts coming in the offensive zone. Not bad for a defense-first player who has been on a scoring frenzy lately, right?

Donato has also been on the ice at even strength for a goal 18.2 percent of the time and is also rocking an on-ice save percentage of 93.0. All of which are exceptional advanced numbers on a rebuilding hockey team. 

While this can all change in the near future, Donato could be a more cost-effective asset for a team that needs to step up their game.