The NHL trade deadline is Monday, but some teams already have made some splashes.
The first major domino to fall was the Ottawa Senators trading Matt Duchene to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. The two clubs weren’t done there however, as Columbus acquired a player Boston reportedly was interested in — when Ottawa traded Ryan Dzingel.
Boston already made a move in trading Ryan Donato and a 2019 fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Charlie Coyle, who scored a shootout goal in the B’s eventual 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon. So although Coyle fills a void Boston needed in a third-line center, does it need more? Will Don Sweeney make a serious run at Senators’ Mark Stone? And if so, what would it take to get him here?
The B’s have been connected to Stone, who will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. He has 64 points (28 goals, 34 assists) in 59 games and certainly would provide a boost to the secondary scoring the Bruins lack. It’s probably fair to assume Ottawa would want a similar return to what it received in its Duchene trade when the Sens received a first-rounder in Vitaly Abramov, a prospect in Jonathan Davidsson and two first-round picks (2019 first round and 2020 conditional first round). Stone and Duchene’s production has been similar, with Duchene amassing 58 points (27 goals, 31 assists).
Boston has the assets to make a Duchene-like trade happen, but Sweeney made it clear although the B’s need help up front, he doesn’t want to give up someone they see as part of their long-term future. And after getting nine out of a possible 10 points in the Bruins’ five-game road trip (without top-line winger David Pastrnak, mind you), will Sweeney want to make a move and risk packaging something similar for a potential rental?
The trade deadline is 3 p.m. ET on Feb. 25.
