The NHL trade deadline is weeks away, and the Bruins will need to consider how much they want to buy into the market.
Boston’s roster nearly is set, and it has gotten contributions from multiple players throughout the season to fill in for injuries. The B’s are the top team in the Atlantic Divison, but it’s possible one impact addition could make the difference to make a run at the Stanley Cup.
General manager Don Sweeney made key trades for Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway that helped push the Bruins to their historic regular season before they fell short in the first round to the Flordia Panthers. But the transactions showed Sweeney understands the team is win-now mode, and he’s willing to do what it takes to help the team reach its goals.
NHL insider Pierre LeBrun on Friday played “matchmaker” for the top rumored targets at the deadline, and he linked Boston with Elias Lindholm.
“It makes too much sense,” Lebrun wrote on The Athletic. “There is no replacing Patrice Bergeron, but a right-handed center with a 200-foot game — it screams Bruins. The problem lies in the acquisition cost as the Bruins traded away their 2024 first-round pick in the Tyler Bertuzzi rental acquisition last trade deadline. But there are other ways to package a deal that can get it done with Calgary. And just as importantly, I could see Bruins general manager Don Sweeney trying to extend Lindholm to make the cost even more worth it. Remember that he did the same with defenseman Hampus Lindholm two years ago at the deadline.”
The Flames center is having a solid season with eight goals and 15 assists for 23 points through 31 games. Elias Lindholm, no relation to Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm, certainly would help solidify the style Jim Montgomery strives for his team and find the right balance of scoring and assisting Boston’s goalie tandem.
It would be an ambitious add, and it would depend on what Calgary wants in return, but the Bruins potentially could be a team to watch out for when the NHL trade deadline nears.
