It's a tradition as woven into the fabric of Bruins fandom as pregame slices at Halftime. Rejoice, everyone. For the annual clamoring for an impact winger is nearly upon us.
Even though the revamped NHL trade deadline is still a ways away (April 12) in this COVID-impacted campaign, whispers linking the B's to a number of potential targets up front have already started to take shape over the last few weeks.
Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman already mentioned Boston as a potential suitor for Canucks winger Jake Virtanen (hardly a top-six fixture, of course), while a listless showing at 5v5 play on Thursday against the Devils — coupled with a two-goal evening from a familiar trade target Kyle Palmieri — started to get the gears turning on just how potent Boston's top six could be with another proven scoring talent added to the mix.
Indeed, in the six weeks between now and the deadline, there stands a good chance that the Bruins — fully cognizant of just how many cracks at the Cup they'll get with this veteran group — peruses the trade market in order to put an end to the carousel of wingers to David Krejci's right.
But when it comes to shoring up this talented — but suddenly very green — B's roster, the writing is on the wall. If another deep run is going to be in the cards for this Bruins club, a top-four presence on the blue line will need to be brought in accordingly.
But rather than 2011, in which Boston acquired Tomáš Kaberle in an effort to spark its stagnant power play from the blue line (whoops!), this Bruins team isn't looking for a specialized weapon to add to its D corps as the missing piece. Rather, it's simple security that they're in search of — with a veteran, minutes-eating presence sorely missed on a defensive unit that, while impressive out of the gate, carries plenty of risk if youngsters like Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril are thrust into featured roles against the heavyweight slugfest that is the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Luckily for Don Sweeney and his staff, there are a number of potential targets already emerging on the trade market that fit the bill as proven pieces on the blue line — with few checking all the boxes quite like Nashville's Mattias Ekholm.
It's a potential fit that's gained plenty of momentum over the last few weeks, with The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun mentioning the Bruins, Flyers, Capitals and Jets as potential suitors for the 30-year-old blueliner.
So how would Ekholm elevate an already solid Bruins defense, where exactly would he fit on this roster — and most importantly, what exactly would it cost?
Let's take a deep dive, shall we?
The fit?
If you were focusing on the raw numbers, you could make the case that this B's defense is already more than capable of holding its own, even without a defenseman like Ekholm.
Even with guys like Lauzon, Zboril and Connor Clifton all logging regular minutes — and key cogs like Matt Grzelcyk spending most of this season on the shelf so far — Boston's metrics in its own zone have been very encouraging.
3rd in NHL in goals against per game – 2.20
3rd in NHL in 5v5 shot attempts against per 60 minutes – 47.6
1st in NHL in 5v5 shots on goal against per 60 minutes – 24.4
3rd in NHL in 5v5 expected goals against per 60 minutes – 1.86
So what gives? Do the Bruins really need to upgrade their defense?
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February 21, 2021 at 08:55PM
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NHL Notebook: Why Mattias Ekholm should be Bruins' top trade target on blue line - bostonsportsjournal.com
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