The Boston Bruins are one of four teams in the National Hockey League that are over the salary cap, and may have to trade a key contributor to get under that cap. The Bruins are currently $809,143 over the cap, and two young players in defenseman Torey Krug, and forward Reilly Smith remain unsigned.
Many local well known Boston hockey writers are suggesting that the player to be traded in order to fix this situation could very well be Johnny Boychuk. The 30-year-old, two-way defensman Boychuk has played five full seasons with the Black and Gold appaering in 317 games while totaling 19 goals, 56 assists. This upcoming 2014-15 season will be the last year of his contract when he is slated to be an unrestricted free agent next summer, and his current $3.3 million cap hit may have the Bruins thinking of a trade.
Bruins interested in Oilers Yakupov?
One possible destination for the Bruins to move Boychuk to could be Edmonton, Alberta where he was born. One interesting rumor is trading Boychuk, and defenseman Matt Bartowski to the Oilers for young right wing forward Nail Yakupov. Yakupov was a first overall pick of the Oilers back in 2012, but has continued to struggle offensively after 111 career games in the NHL, only scoring 28 times, and helping out with 27 assists.
Yakupov has a great natural hockey sense, with quick hands and feet and is considered a pure goal-scorer, but has not seen his full potential after two complete NHL seasons in Edmonton. The offensively talented winger could have a better year with another team like the Bruins and their system. Yakupov is currently on an entry-level contract with the Oilers, and his cap number ($925,000) would certainly work for the Bruins if a trade were to happen. However if the trade is made with Boston, and he has a good year, he will probably get an upgrade in salary that the Bruins may have a problem with in the future in this cap era.
If Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli is to consider a trade like this, he may want to look at the particulars of Yakupov’s recent NHL history, and figure out if he can be effective in Bruins coach Claude Julien’s scheme. Yakupov was a healthy scratch many times last season under the leadership of Oilers rookie head coach Dallas Eakins, and his -33 rating last season was a concern for the Oilers coaching staff.
The Boston Bruins have nine NHL-ready defensemen, which means two of them could be dealt this summer, but does Chiarelli take the gamble of pulling the trigger on a deal, or does he continue to count down the 36 days until the season starts? There is no question the Bruins do need a scoring winger after the loss of Jarome Iginla to free agency, but they must replace him with a player that has consistency with offensive numbers.
If the Bruins do make any sort of trade, it should happen as soon as possible. Any player that comes to a new organization should get used to the system with a full training camp, and team workouts. Replacing a 30 goal scorer is a must, but retaining two future Bruins for the future should also be a no brainer. It should be interesting to see what the Bruins do to not only get under the cap, but to find the pieces to build a winner to get back to the Stanley Cup Finals.
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