Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now: There are many who think the Boston Bruins need to make a move before the start of the season. They are going to have to give up something to get something.
Enter a top defensive prospect for the Bruins – Urho Vaakanainen.
The Bruins still need to re-sign restricted free agent forward Jake DeBrusk, and bringing back defenseman Zdeno Chara isn’t going to cut it for Bruins fans.
There is some pressure on GM Don Sweeney to add a defenseman, which is likely why he was in on the Oliver Ekman-Larsson trade talks before the start of free agency.
D.J. Been of NBC Sports Boston: The Boston Bruins lost defenseman Torey Krug to free agency and brought in forward Craig Smith.
It shouldn’t be a big surprise that RFA forward Jake DeBrusk remains without a deal. It’s nothing new for a Bruins to not have an RFA signed mid offseason. The sides do need to figure out a deal before long. The Bruins don’t have a ton of salary cap room and a long-term deal could be costly, A short-term deal in the $4 million range could be an option.
Defenseman Zdeno Chara remains an unrestricted free agent. At the start of free agency, it was believed he was receiving interest from other teams. He remains unsigned and if something was going to happen elsewhere, would think it would have happened by now.
The Bruins could use another sure thing on the left side of their blue line. They could use another veteran that is cheap. Bringing back Chara for the third pairing makes sense. A deal at $2 million without incentives should work.
Adding a left winger should be another area the Bruins look at. Mike Hoffman and Anthony Duclair could be short-term options. Erik Haula has played his best at center but has played left wing. Andreas Athanasiou scored 30 goals during the 2018-19 season but struggled last year.
The Bruins could look to move some salary out by trading forward Nick Ritchie or defenseman John Moore.
