As the calendar turns to June and the Stanley Cup Final is set between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, the offseason is going to get very busy for all the teams eliminated from the postseason or who failed to make the postseason.
The NHL Draft Combine is this week, then the Draft will take place at the end of the month. As far as the Boston Bruins are concerned, they currently don’t have a first-round pick after they traded it away at the trade deadline in 2023 to the Detroit Red Wings in a deal that acquired Tyler Bertuzzi. Over a year later and a historic playoff at the hands of Florida last spring and again in the second round this season, it was still the right move by GM Don Sweeney who made every effort to give his team a shot to win the Stanley Cup.
The Black and Gold won’t pick in June, as of now, until the fourth round, which will be well into Day 2. Of course, all of that can change with one trade between now and the end of the month as there are deals that Sweeney would like to make, but it’s a matter of getting a return that works for both teams.
As we get into what will be a busy month ahead of free agency on July 1, here are three bold offseason predictions for the Bruins for the summer of 2024.
The Bruins trade Linus Ullmark and get less of a return than first thought
There have been several potential Linus Ullmark trade rumors since really March at the deadline when it was reported that he used his NTC to void a deal with the Los Angeles Kings. He still has the power to void a deal, but his NTC list goes from 16 to 15. Despite him saying that he wants to remain in Boston, you get the feeling that he’ll be moved this offseason.
One report had the Ottawa Senators as a potential destination with a return possibly of defenseman Jakob Chychrun, someone who the Bruins have inquired about before at past trade deadlines. The Kings, Oilers, and Detroit Red Wings are teams that have been linked to Ullmark along with the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes. In the end, I wouldn’t get hopes very high that Ullmark will bring back a player of Chychrun or Martin Necas caliber, but more likely a high draft pick as the centerpiece of a return. In reality, a first-round pick along with other smaller pieces would be a good return for Sweeney.
Bruins sign Chandler Stephenson in free agency
Leading into free agency, the Bruins are going to be linked to several players, mainly centers. They need a top center as they never filled the void left by Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, who both retired last summer. At the trade deadline, they likely were involved with the Calgary Flames in a deal for Elias Lindholm, but he ended up going to the Vancouver Canucks ahead of the deadline. It’s expected that he’ll test free agency and if he does the Bruins would certainly be interested, but at what price?
Sweeney has a ton of cap space available, but is Lindholm worth say a deal that carries an $8 or $9 million AAV? There are going to be a lot of teams interested in him, but another fallback option for Boston is Vegas Golden Knights pivot Chandler Stephenson. He would still be an upgrade from what the Bruins had this past season at the top of their center-depth as he has been a good player for former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy in Vegas, helping them win the Stanley Cup last season against the Panthers. Stephenson is someone worth keeping an eye on should he hit free agency. (640)
Bruins sign Patrick Kane
Aside from a center and another defenseman, the Bruins could use an upgrade on the wing and a wing that would be a big addition offensively. Enter Patrick Kane who won three Stanley Cups with the Chicago Blackhawks. The 35-year-old wing signed in late November with the Detroit Red Wings for one year and $2.75 million. In 50 games with Detroit this past season, he averaged nearly a point a night with 20 goals and 27 assists with 15 points on the power play.
He was drafted first overall in the 2007 Entry Draft by Chicago and had his career there end at the 2023 trade deadline when he was sent to the New York Rangers. This season with the Red Wings, he averaged nearly three shots a night. He is what the Bruins are missing in the top six, a goal-scoring veteran presence to compliment David Pastrnak in terms of production.
This is a huge offseason for Sweeney in terms of being able to spend money to add the necessary pieces to put his team in a better position for the 2024-25 season. He said he was going to be aggressive this summer and expect some moves that you might not have seen coming.
