The Boston Bruins and Minnesota Wild swung a deal to send Charlie Coyle to Boston. Going the other way to Minnesota was Ryan Donato and a conditional 2019 fifth-round pick – becomes a fourth (NYR) if the Bruins make it to the second round. Paul Fenton makes his second deal of the NHL Trade Deadline and Don Sweeney‘s first. It appears Boston may not be done yet. However, let’s take a look at how this trade impacts both clubs.
Charlie Coyle and the Boston Bruins
Coyle presents as a versatile forward who can play center or wing. Also, Coyle can be positioned in the middle-six and even the power-play. His strength is providing solid depth for a Boston team missing David Pastrnak. Just two years ago, Coyle broke out with a 56 point campaign (18 goals, 38 assists). His possession numbers were near team average for Minnesota this season which is pretty good.
Coyle can fill the second line left wing role for now and then third line center role later if need be. That is a nice luxury for Boston to have. Playing near home may be a good thing for Coyle who thinks hockey 24/7. As for this season, Coyle has scored ten goals and 18 assists in 60 games with a +1. He averages a shade less than two shots per game. Thanks again to Bill Comeau who provides a little insight with his SKATR visualizations.
Charlie Coyle fills a real need in Boston and this makes them a much stronger playoff opponent. pic.twitter.com/Vwapvfqula
— Bill Comeau (@billius27) February 20, 2019
Alas, there are some concerns about production from Coyle in the playoffs. Aside from the 2014 postseason, Coyle has been virtually invisible. However, maybe a change of scenery helps the forward regain some of that long production. Will the forward garner some power-play time in the absence of David Pastrnak? That’s a great question. It makes sense to put the big forward in front of the net to see what he can do. This just feels like a pre-cursor to another move from Boston before the trade deadline. Finally, Coyle fits in well with the Boston makeup of forwards. He carries a $3.2 million AAV for next season and will be 27 in March.
Ryan Donato heads to Minnesota
Besides the conditional fifth-round pick, Donato will call Minnesota home now. The young forward turns 23 at the end of the regular season. He endured his first extended run with Boston but was sent back to Providence late in January. Donato had 12 points in 18 AHL games with Providence before the trade.
A few things stick out with Donato. First, he shoots the puck at a solid rate. Basically, he fires a puck on net at the rate of 10.9 shots per 60. If he received top-six minutes, Donato averaging three shots a game would be about accurate. This season it was 2.2 in just 12:30 of ice time per night. Also, he was at 3.5 shot attempts per contest. When it comes to possession metrics to relative, Donato was right around Boston’s team average.
Second, Donato possesses nice talent on the power play. There’s little question of that. He tallied three power-play goals for Boston in limited time. Minnesota may give him more time on the man advantage. It is a role they need to fill. Most pundits saw what he could do for Team USA. With proper talent and development, Donato could provide scoring punch at even-strength as well as the power-play.
Third, Donato must improve his two-way game at least a little. One of the reasons he was sent down to Providence was to work on aspects of defense. Skating without the puck and covering players became a little problematic. Those are things which can be worked on. Donato’s above average shot and speed could be huge assets in Minnesota’s offense as he matures.
His upside goals wise is a good bit higher than Coyle’s and overall offense may be as well.
Some Final Notes
Waiting on the trade was interesting. Why? Boston playing on Wednesday night complicated the process a bit. The old maximum player on the roster concept reared its ugly head. Two questions. Can Charlie Coyle regain his previous form? Will Donato blossom into a 30-goal scorer? They are excellent questions with no clear answers.