The Boston Bruins have been at the center of trade rumors involving two prominent players, Elias Lindholm and Mark Scheifele, throughout the summer. General Manager Don Sweeney has been diligent in assessing the potential trade costs for these players, according to sources reported by Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now. Unfortunately, either the players haven’t made up their minds, their respective teams haven’t made it easy to make a trade, or the Bruins just don’t have the wherewithal to pull off that kind of maneuver right now.
Related: Elias Lindholm Clearly Frustrated Discussing Flames Contract Talks
Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic suggests that while there may still be interest by the Bruins in both Lindholm and Scheifele, the team might need to exercise patience and wait until later in the season to make a serious push for either player. Shinzawa references the Bo Horvat trade as a comparable, highlighting that the Bruins may currently lack the necessary assets that were used in the deal between the Islanders and Canucks to acquire Scheifele or Lindholm via trade.
The Bruins Could Always Wait Until the Summer and NHL Free Agency
As an alternative strategy, Shinzawa proposes that the Bruins consider pursuing one of these two players in free agency. He outlines a scenario in which the Bruins could free up significant cap space by allowing several unrestricted free agents, including Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbort, A.J. Greer, Matt Grzelcyk, Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Jakub Zboril, to walk. This approach could potentially give the Bruins over $19 million in available funds.
With this substantial cap space, the Bruins could make a competitive offer to Scheifele or Lindholm if they become unrestricted free agents. Not only would the Bruins land the player they want, but it would signify a bit of a reboot in Boston as the strategy would enable the team to avoid giving up valuable assets in a trade and move forward with one of these two centers as building blocks to form a team around.
While the trade rumors surrounding Lindholm and Scheifele continue to circulate, the Bruins appear to be considering various avenues to strengthen their roster, with free agency emerging as a viable option should the right opportunity arise later in the season.
Next: Blackhawks Could Use Connor Bedard to Trade Tyler Johnson
