The NHL trade deadline is fast approaching and the Bruins find themselves in an intresting position.
Boston sits atop the league standings with a 42-8-5 record and 91 points, 13 points ahead of the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs in the Atlantic Division and seven in front of the Carolina Hurricanes for the top spot in the NHL.
The Bruins constantly find ways to win games and know how to erase an deficit. They have arguably the best goalie tandem in the league with Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, those in the league believe David Pastrnak is the best winger and they have the NHL’s top penalty kill.
They certainly would benefit from adding some depth on both offense and defense, and with the St. Louis Blues appearing to be in sell mode, could Ivan Barbashev be a good fit for the Black and Gold?
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli on Wednesday published a column naming some “potential fits” for the forward, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
Depending on the Bruins’ work to add on the back end, how aggressive will they be up front? Boston should be all-in and they found a lot of success in 2019 adding Marcus Johansson for relatively cheap. Barbashev could play on the third line with Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall, sliding Trent Frederic down to the fourth line. The complicating factor is they don’t have many second-round picks.
Barbashev does have playoff experience — being part of the 2019 Blues team that beat the Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final — but he’s not known for his production throughout the playoffs. Seravalli noted Barbashev has just three goals in 50 playoff games.
For where the Bruins are at this point in the season, it may not make the most sense to bring in someone who, as Seravalli notes, “lacks explosiveness that generates separation, which is why he isn’t the best player to transport the puck up the ice and gain entry into the offensive zone.”
Playing on a line with Hall and Frederic likely would elevate Barbashev’s play, but for what the Bruins are trying to accomplish in a year where so much has gone right for them, maybe they stay away from Barbashev and target someone like Columbus Blue Jackets’ Vladislav Gavrikov, especially with “everything points to Massachusetts as the landing spot,” according to SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman in his latest “32 Thoughts” column.
The Bruins have until March 3 at 3 p.m. ET to make a move and keep themselves as the Stanley Cup favorite.
