Bruins believed to be on the cusp of making a major splash in the trade market
It's no secret that the Boston Bruins are in desperate need of a high-end centerman after losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement. Well, as it turns out, the Bruins could be preparing to turn to the trade market to make something happen before the start of the season.
The Bruins could step in and snatch Mark Scheifele from the Winnipeg Jets, as Scheifele is entering the final year of his current deal and is rumoured to be considering testing free agency next summer.
After parting ways with Blake Wheeler via a buyout earlier this summer, the Jets are believed to be interested in a major re-tooling and potentially even a rebuild. Both Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck are believed to be on the way out as free agents next summer, so Scheifele is certainly available.
The Jets originally drafted Scheifele with the 7th overall pick in 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He has racked up 272 goals and 645 points in 723 games across 12 seasons in Winnipeg. He's also coming off a season in which he scored 42 goals and also has 32 points in 37 post-season contests. Everything that the Bruins would be craving with the departures of Bergeron and Krejci.
According to Daily Faceoff, the Bruins have Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle, Morgan Geekie, and Jesper Boqvist as their 4 centres, which is just not good enough if they intend to contend and make a deep playoff run. Inserting Scheifele in between David Pastrnak and James van Riemsdyk is a whole lot better than their current options.
Scheifele carries a cap hit of $6.125 million, but the Bruins are currently only $429,166 above the $83.5 million salary cap, so they'd have to move some money to make things work. The Jets are not in a position where they're rebuilding yet either, so they would be expecting a decent haul that would include NHL roster players for a player like Scheifele.
The Bruins' Cup window is up in the air, but with David Pastrnak's 8-year extension kicking in this season, it's time they make a move to keep up with the rest of the Eastern Conference.
| POLL | ||
Will the Bruins pull off a trade to bring in Mark Scheifele before the season begins? | ||
| Yes | 152 | 34.7 % |
| No | 217 | 49.5 % |
| Maybe at the deadline if they're in a playoff spot | 69 | 15.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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