Elliotte Friedman tends to drop little tidbits into his 32 Thoughts podcast and blogs that you might miss if you aren't paying attention. While speaking about players who haven't been working out for their teams this season on his most recent podcast episode, Friedman turned his attention to Mattias Maccelli. While discussing the Toronto Maple Leafs' failed signing, Friedman revealed that the Boston Bruins are actively pursuing a key offensive piece.
The mentioned that the Bruins had interest in Maccelli this offseason but missed out (thankfully), and that he had no reason to believe that the front office was attempting to circle back to those talks after Maccelli has been a healthy scratch often for Toronto. However, when shooting down the Maccelli to Boston rumors, he added that he believes the Bruins are still in the market for a scoring winger.
The talks of acquiring a scoring winger likely picked up after Thursday night's win over the Winnipeg Jets. Viktor Arvidsson suffered an injury in the game, and if he is going to miss some time, Marco Sturm needs someone to play the second-line right wing spot. While most fans would love to see Fabian Lysell play there, the Bruins' past ways of treating the Swedish prospect makes me believe they'd prefer to acquire a more proven NHLer.
Bruins' offensive needs come into focus as Friedman hints at move
Alex Tuch would make the most sense if the Bruins really have their eyes on contending this season. He is a right winger who is nearly averaging a point per game this season on an abysmal Buffalo Sabres team. With the Sabres unsure of what their future holds after another slow start to the season, trading an expiring contract in Tuch could be the move.
It won't be easy for the Bruins to fit Tuch on their books, but a $4.75 million cap hit for the remainder of this season is possible. The Sabres could also retain some salary, and the Bruins have some roster players who they might move out if they could lock Tuch in long-term, which they'd be able to do this upcoming offseason with some salary cap space opening up.
Keep an eye on a recent report from The Athletic that Kevyn Adams' job as the Sabres' general manager could be in jeopardy. Would the new management look to make a big splash early in their tenure?