Moving Jake DeBrusk for More Trade Assets
Noah Hanifin or Chris Tanev From Calgary
Alexandre Carrier From the Nashville Predators
While Hanifin or Tanev would be a big upgrade to the Bruins’ top-four on defense, they would also require a significant trade and a lot of potential moving pieces to make it happen.
If the Bruins wanted to think smaller and simply upgrade their third-pairing — which they could absolutely use — Nashville’s Alexandre Carrier would be a really strong option at a cheaper price.
He counts $2.5 million against the cap for this season, is a pending unrestricted free agent and would be an ideal third-pairing player for any potential contender.
He is not going to light up the scoreboard offensively, but he does have some scoring potential for a third-pairing role and is an extremely sound, smart defensive player that tends to always find himself in the right spot. The only thing Boston might not love about him is he does not have great size or strength and isn’t really a physically imposing defender. But there is a lot to be said for being in the right spot and making smart plays.
The Predators are still on the fringes of playoff contention in the Western Conference, but they are rapidly trending in the wrong direction. They have not won a playoff series since 2018 and seem to be on their way to a second straight non-playoff season. Selling seems like a logical approach, and given Carrier’s contract status as a pending unrestricted free agent he would be a likely trade candidate to bring back a second-round draft pick or mid-level prospect.
Nic Dowd From the Washington Capitals
At the start of the season center would have looked to be the Bruins’ biggest need.
Not only simply acquiring a center, but potentially a top-line center.
With Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retiring, and nobody being brought in from outside the organization to replace them, it left their top-two center spots in the hands of Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha. That did not seem to be an ideal situation for a potential Stanley Cup contender.
While that still might be true, Coyle and Zacha have done an outstanding job filling the top-two spots and there might not be a realistic upgrade that the Bruins could pursue.
Adam Henrique is the top rental center available, but is he enough of an upgrade over what Coyle and Zacha have provided to justify the cost to acquire him? Doubtful, even if it would significantly improve their depth down the middle.
A 1-2-3 punch of Coyle-Henrique-Zacha would be lacking a star, but there would not really be a weakness there.
But again … the cost. And also trying to make the salary work. It would just require a lot of moving parts that the Bruins may not have.
Dowd isn’t a rental and is still under contract for one more full season, but his salary cap hit is only $1.3 million per season and he would be a really strong addition to the bottom-six. That extra year of term might bump up the trade cost a little bit, but it might be worth it for the extra year of cost certainty and depth.
The Capitals are facing a huge uphill battle to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference and would be wise to shop Dowd now when his value is at its absolute highest point.
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