Will the Bruins PTO anyone? The trade route is more likely than the free agent route
Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now: (mailbag) There is still time for the Boston Bruins to make some moves to improve their roster. So far this offseason they haven’t done anything to improve.
If the Bruins are to sign someone to a PTO, defenseman Karl Alzner could be one option. Torey Krug is obviously gone, and with Zdeno Chara’s future in question, they might be looking to add a veteran. Anthony Duclair and Mikael Granlund will likely be signing contracts and not PTOs.
Believe that at this point the Bruins are more likely to make a trade than to sign an unrestricted free agent. Though adding Mike Hoffman would be nice, don’t think they have the salary cap room to make it happen.
They could be looking to acquire an experienced defenseman to play the left side. If the Bruins trade a top-six forward, maybe they’d end up with enough room to add Hoffman. If they make a trade before the start of the season, an ‘Oliver Ekman-Larsson-type trade is the most likely move.’
The Bruins are sitting with around $3.6 million in cap room and don’t believe they’ve been told to not go closer to the ceiling.
Should the Predators try to offer sheet Anthony Cirelli?
Adam Vingan of The Athletic: The Nashville Predators are armed with some cap space and a top-six that included Anthony Cirelli centering the second line would look good.
They have the draft picks need to send Cirelli an offer sheet. A $7 million per year offer sheet would cost the Predators a first-, second-, and third-round pick.
Predators GM David Poile has a history of making some bold moves. He’s been on record of saying they don’t have any financial restrictions this year.