The NHL trade deadline is a little more than a week away, and it sounds like one of the Bruins’ top prospects is staying put, no matter how much the club may tempted to offer him in a trade.
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli said Wednesday that Boston goaltending prospect Malcolm Subban won’t be involved in any trades leading up to the April 3 deadline.
“I can tell you this, that I’m not trading Malcolm Subban,” Chiarelli said on 98.5 The Sports Hub’s Toucher and Rich. “He’s young, he’s a very good goalie prospect and I see him in our future and being a big part of our future. We’ve got some good goalie depth, but I’m telling you, I’m not trading Malcolm Subban. There are other players in a fairly well-stocked cupboard of prospects, but I’m not trading Malcolm Subban.”
Chiarelli said that he thinks Subban could be a contributor sooner than later, claiming that the club’s 2012 first-round draft pick is two or three years away from the NHL. This makes the goaltending situation interesting to say the least. Chiarelli has openly stated that he would like to lock up Tuukka Rask to an extension at some point (he did so again Wednesday), as the No.1 goalie is set to become a restricted free agent this summer.
Chiarelli also spoke about what it is he’s looking for leading up to the deadline. He wouldn’t say whether he’d prioritize adding a defenseman or a forward, but he did insist the club will do whatever it takes to improve.
“It’s easy to say defenseman because we’ve got two that are injured, but I’m trying to improve our depth at both positions,” he explained. “Let me try to be clear on this: depth doesn’t mean we’re going to get a No. 10 defenseman and it doesn’t mean we’re going to get a No. 2 defenseman. It means we’re going to get a defenseman, if we can, that fits into our group and the way we play.
“As it applies to the forward position, we’re not trying to get a centerman. I’m trying to get a winger.”
