Bruins in Trade Talks

The Boston Bruins have run into quite a wall going 2-7-1 in their last ten games. The Bruins may be putting the panic button on very soon. Trade rumors are swirling and the Bruins may be interested in Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Bruins are in tenth place right now, just shy of that eight and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. This season though is far from lost though. The Bruins still have time to make a deal before the trade deadline on March 3rd. If Peter Chiarelli wants to make a playoff push then he must make a deal to solidify the Black & Gold.

There are rumors of the Bruins pursuing both Dion Phaneuf and Ilya Kovalchuk. Both players are high impact players, but Phaneuf is more of defensive defensemen and the Bruins cannot score. Phaneuf does have a blast from the point, but is that really what Boston needs?

All season long the Black & Gold have been having problems putting the puck between the pipes. Ilya Kovalchuk is one of the best snipers in the league, and is just the kind of player the Bruins could use to make a push for Lord Stanley’s cup.  The biggest problem with Kovalchuk is going to be the $. His cap hit is currently 6.4 million dollars, so the Bruins would need to get rid of some cap space to bring in Kovalchuk. The same would have to happen if the Bruins brought in Phaneuf.

The Bruins would probably look to trade Michael Ryder, but that is if anyone would even take him. Ryder has been dreadful this season and his stats show it. Ryder has only managed 20 points including 12 goals. The Bruins could also try and send Ryder down to Providence to clear his cap space. To do this though Ryder would then have to clear waivers though. The Penguins did this last season with Miroslav Satan, and then brought Satan back up for the playoffs because the cap does not matter in the playoffs.

Kovalchuk brings just what the Bruins need and that is a speedy sniper. Kovalchuk could be very expensive though to bring in, which is probably the biggest problem. What does Atlanta want from Boston in return? Can the Bruins get Kovalchuk to sign an extension before Free Agency?

It appears that Kovalchuk is determined to test out the Free Agency market. There are rumors coming out of Russia that he is seeking a 10 year, 10 million dollar deal. There is also a fear that Kovalchuk could jet to the KHL. The KHL has been taking some prominent names lately like Jamoir Jagr and Alexander Radulov.  It is still unclear if Kovalchuk would explore the KHL option, but it is something teams need to consider when trading for Kovalchuk.

The Bruins best bet is to wait until Marc Savard and Marco Sturm are both back in the line-up, so Peter Chiarelli can best asses his team. The Bruins need some scoring help even with Savvy and Sturm back, so there may be some other names like Teemu Selanne that could become avaivlable. Selanne is probably in his last season and is a much cheaper player than Kovalchuk. Selanne’s cap hit is 2.6 Mil. The cap hit would be pro rated if the Bruins acquired Selanne, and would be able to fit him in under the cap.

If the Bruins do make a trade it will not involve the Toronto 1st round pick. Chiarelli told Pierre LeBrun “I’m not trading Toronto’s pick [for this year],” Chiarelli said. I am not trading it. That pick is too valuable.” Lebrun also commented in an article that the Bruins are the front runners for Kovalchuk with the Kings. Lebrun said Chiarelli refused to talk about Kovalchuk though. Kovalchuk would be great for Boston the only question is can they afford him?