Boston might be a little more active in the trade market with the NHL trade deadline coming up in less than a month and the sad news that Matthew Poitras’ rookie season with the Bruins is over.
The Bruins will definitely be buyers before the March 8 deadline because they are presently leading the league.
Charlie Coyle has assumed the role of top-center, replacing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. As a result, the Bruins should concentrate on finding a middle-six forward who can offer toughness and depth for Boston’s postseason push.
The Bruins may want to target the following three forwards:
Adam Henrique, Anaheim Ducks
Henrique is a flexible player who can contribute to the victory and the penalty kill while also playing down the centre.
With an average of 17:16 minutes of ice time, he has scored 33 points in 49 games for the Ducks. During the New Jersey Devils’ 2011–12 Stanley Cup run, he participated in 24 postseason games. In the Devils’ defeat against the Los Angeles Kings, he recorded five goals and eight assists.
At the end of the season, he will become an unrestricted free agent, ending his five-year, $29.1 million contract, which may tempt the Bruins as they prepare for the postseason.
Dominik Kubalik, Ottawa Senators
With just 12 points in 43 games this season, Kubalik is having a poor season, but he still has the ability to score goals to help the bottom six forward group.
The 28-year-old might develop a rapport with James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic despite having a quiet season in order to spark scoring outside of the top six.
Similar to Henrique, Kubalik’s $2.5 million contract expires at the end of the season, making him an unrestricted free agent.
Tyler Johnson, Chicago Blackhawks
Although Johnson is not the league’s top offensive player, he did contribute 13 points in 35 games for the Blackhawks prior to sustaining a foot injury, which would give the Bruins’ bottom six more scoring depth.
The 12-year veteran has 116 postseason games played, 65 points scored, and two Stanley Cups won with the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bruins ought to give Johnson a closer look after his kind of postseason experience.
At the conclusion of the season, Johnson, 33, becomes an unrestricted free agent, with a $5 million cap hit.
Any of these signings would give the Bruins forward group more size and depth in terms of scoring going into the postseason. What it would take to land one of them is the one unanswered question.
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