The Boston Bruins might have to get creative this summer, which means there could be changes on the way for the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners.
B’s brass have claimed the team doesn’t need a major overhaul, but CSNNE.com reported Friday, via “hockey sources,” that Boston is expected to be “very active” in the trade market this summer.
Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli certainly isn’t afraid to make big deals, pulling the trigger on two franchise-altering trades in the last five years. The first came in 2009, when he shipped forward Phil Kessel to the Toronto Maple Leafs shortly before the season started. Boston acquired three draft picks for Kessel, one of which was used to draft Tyler Seguin in the 2010 draft. Chiarelli then traded Seguin last summer as part of a blockbuster trade with the Dallas Stars.
Despite Chiarelli’s past wheeling and dealing, any sort of big trade this summer would be a departure from what the Bruins have said publicly about their offseason plan. The Boston brass said last month that they’re not looking to make big changes after racking up 117 points during the regular season.
“We fell short in the second round, which disappoints everybody, so we want to reevaluate where we think we could improve upon and look at that as opposed to major overhauls,” Bruins president Cam Neely said May 20. “I think when we have the regular season we had, especially the stretch from March in April that wasn’t luck. We were a good team, and we still feel we have a good team and maybe need a few tweaks.”
However, the Bruins are in a difficult salary-cap situation, and some sort of trade might make sense, especially if it’s able to clear up some cap space. CapGeek.com currently has the Bruins about $9 million under the projected salary cap. The B’s have a handful of free agents, a list that includes veteran winger Jarome Iginla. According to a report over the weekend, the Bruins and Iginla are working toward a new contract.
