As the Minnesota Wild look for trade partners heading in to the draft, the Boston Bruins are emerging quickly as a great option to acquire forward help. The Wild will most certainly be looking into the prices of the talented group of Bruins forwards in the days to come.
The Minnesota Wild may not have made a trade yet, but the logic is that one could be coming very soon. In Friday’s Pioneer Press Chad Graff points out that Wild GM Chuck Fletcher has been historically active in trade market during the draft. As the NHL’s GMs get together in Buffalo in the days leading up to the draft, trade talks will intensify and you could finally see the first big roster change for the Wild this offseason.
Fletcher has been busy calling other GMs about trade prospects ever since the team’s troubles back in January. He’s had ample time to get a feel for what other teams have and will offer, and what those teams’ price will be for players the Wild are looking to acquire. Many teams are possible trade partners, but there are a few that standouts.
The Boston Bruins need defense. Their blueline is among the weakest in the NHL. Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg have seen declining play over the last season mixed with the possible departure of John-Michael Liles the Bruins will be looking to acquire a top defenseman. Their bargaining chips to get that defensive help will their pool of talented forwards. Sounds like a match for the Wild right?
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The Bruins have three forwards on their roster that scored over 30 goals Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Loui Eriksson. Eriksson is an impending UFA and will be looking to fetch a salary north of $6 million and looks to possibly be moving on, although Boston has a ton of space to re-sign him so anything can happen. So Marchand and Bergeon look to be solid targets for the Wild.
Right now Marchand is making $4.5 million in the last year of his contract, so he offers an affordable option to add scoring quickly. He’ll be motivated to continue to produce as he’ll want to make 30 goal scorer money after this season and could increase his salary to a mark much like Eriksson. That’s a down side for the Wild in the long-term, but in the short-term it could really fuel the scoring for the team.
Bergeron’s cap hit is a bit more at $6.85 million, but unlike Marchand he’s signed through 2022 and would offer more stability. Also being a center he offers a better fit for the Wild so they can free up Granlund and Coyle to play the wing. His possession numbers are solid with Corsi and Fenwick over 50% for all but one of his seasons in the league. Most of all though Bergeron is perhaps the best two-way forward in the league, so his price on the market could be unattainable. Still with the Bruins looking to get back to the playoffs, anyone could be dealt.
Beyond Marchand and Bergeron, the Bruins forwards drop off dramatically in the goal scoring department with no one else on the roster reaching the 20 goal mark in the 2015-16 season. Still one more name that can fit the Wild’s need for talented scoring forwards is a younger option in David Pastrnak. The 20-year old Czech tallied 15 goals in 51 NHL contests, and looks to improve on that performance next season. At a current hit of $925,000 he offers a lower price option for the Wild that might fit better into their cash strapped budget.
As far as who the Wild can offer in return, just about any defensemen who are rumored as available would be a fit with the Bruins. The issue in a trade with Boston revolves around price. The forwards the Wild will be looking to get from Boston are considered some of the best in the league. It will more than likely cost them more than one defensive piece, and that is a tough price to pay. But as Graff pointed out later in his article that the expansion draft could mean more incentive to move a defenseman as they can only protect three D-men. Still the hope here is that the Bruins are looking to shake up their team so much that they’ll offer their top talent a reduced price.
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One thing that is certain the options for a trade with Boston make sense. Fletcher will most certainly be talking with Bruins GM Don Sweeny next week and the discussions should be productive and interesting. A deal may or may not get done, but you can bet Fletcher would be well served to spend time getting price points for the Bruins forwards from Sweeny, and Sweeny can’t afford to not consider the Wild’s defensive offerings. Hold tight, it’s going to be a big week in Buffalo.