It’s time for another edition of NHL as we await the start of the Conference Finals. We’ve arrived at the last four in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. However, there’s plenty to discuss about team’s that were eliminated. One team that’s thinking about what might have been is the Boston Bruins. They came up short in the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the Florida Panthers. Today’s NHL rumours focus on the Boston Bruins offence and what changes could be coming.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Boston Bruins Offence Needs This Off-Season
Rumour: The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa gave a list of possible off-season needs that General Manager Don Sweeney needs to fill.
Trading Linus Ullmark is atop the Bruins' offseason checklist. What else will they do? https://t.co/RhrX3ZCyW5
— Fluto Shinzawa (@FlutoShinzawa) May 21, 2024
Analysis: Boston was once again ousted from the Stanley Cup Playoffs by Florida for the second straight season. The Bruins pushed the Panthers to six games, but a lack of scoring and the Cats’ depth ended their dreams. Shinzawa did a postmortem on what Boston and Sweeney may do in the off-season to make a push.
Strength Down the Middle
Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie are what the Bruins have at the centre spot as of now. This team did miss the clutch play and defensive acumen of Patrice Bergeon. That weakness was exposed against top-tier pivots like Aleksander Barkov. Shinzawa said that the Bruins must make getting another top-tier centre a priority.
Sweeney could try to make a deal to land a centre and Linus Ullmark could be used as a bargaining chip. Trading the Swedish netminder was listed on the off-season checklist by the Bruins writer. Using Ullmark as trade bait could kill two birds with one stone. However, Ullmark still holds that no-trade clause.
Some of the money needs to be used to give restricted free agent Jeremy Swayman a raise. However, there needs to be some money used to land a strong centre. Elias Lindholm could hit the market if he and the Vancouver Canucks don’t reach a deal. However, Lindholm probably wants an increase from his $4.75 million value.
Another option could be Tampa Bay Lightning centre Steven Stamkos. There are salary cap concerns with the Lightning and the team’s captain. Tampa Bay is up against the cap and might give Stamkos a lower offer. Boston could come into play and swoop for the talented forward.
Adding a Scoring Winger
Another need Shizawa mentioned was giving some scoring punch on the wings. David Pastrnak led the team in goals, assists and points, but did play through some groin issues. Boston still has Brad Marchand, but he’s entering the last year of his contract. Jake DeBrusk did take some steps forward, but his future is unknown. Trent Frederic will also have his contract expire at the end of next season much like Marchand.
Depth scoring was an issue the deeper the team got into the playoffs. There needs to be some help on the wings in order for Boston to crack into the next tier of contenders.
Sam Reinhart of Florida seems to be the prize that other clubs are striving to sign. However, it seems that Reinhart wants to stay with the Panthers as we’ve reported in previous editions of NHL rumours. The state of Florida also has the advantage of a no-tax state and his salary would go a longer way.
There are other options that may not be at the top-tier. However, they could fill the void and give Pastrnak and Marchand some help. Some of these names include Tyler Bertuzzi, Jonathan Marchessault, Teuvo Teravainen, Matt Duchene and Patrick Kane. This off-season is going to have plenty of intrigue for Sweeney and the rest of the team’s fan base.
Main photo by: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
