What Should the Boston Bruins Do at the Trade Deadline on April 12th?

Overtime Heroics Editorial

811 days ago

As the playoffs approach every team has to decide whether they want to acquire players via trade to help improve their roster and try to compete for the Stanley Cup. Other teams that aren’t quite as competitive decide to sell off their expiring contracts and older veteran players for future assets to try to become competitive for the future. The Boston Bruins are one of the competitive teams that should be acquiring players to try and make them better come playoff time.

Bruins trade deadline options

So far the Bruins are fourth place in the East Division with a record of 13 wins, six losses, and four overtime or shootout losses. The Bruins have exemplified that they are a strong defensive team but they lack a potent offense. They have also battled injuries on the back end. Brendan Carlo recently suffered an injury thanks to a cheap shot by Tom Wilson. Jarred Tinordi and Urho Vaakanainen have filled Carlo’s role nicely but the Bruins should address their depth issue at the trade deadline.

Read about Tom Wilson"s suspension here

Read about how the Bruins will fill the void that Brandon Carlo"s injury leaves here

Players such as Jake Debrusk and Ondrej Kase have been disappointing this season for different reasons. Kase has battled injuries and Debrusk has struggled to produce points this season and they might need a new face in the building to help try and make them play at the level they have exemplified they can play at. The Bruins need to add a top-six winger to help stimulate their offense to try and get them deeper into the playoffs.

A Need for Offense

As mentioned in the above paragraph the Bruins need to address a couple of key issues on their roster. The Boston Bruins also need to add a top-six forward to try and get their offense producing at the level needed to be competitive in a push to the playoffs and beyond.

Kyle Palmieri

The first player the Boston Bruins should consider acquiring currently plays for the New Jersey Devils. As a member of the Devils, Kyle Palmieri has been a thorn in the Bruin"s side all season due to the division realignment thanks to the Covid-19 shortened regular season.

Palmieri is a product of Notre Dame University and a former first-round pick of the Anaheim Ducks. Since being drafted in 2009 Palmieri has been a very good player in the NHL. Palmieri spent the first five seasons of his NHL career with the Ducks and accumulated 43 goals and 46 assists in 178 games.

Kyle Palmieri entering the penalty box during the 2014 NHL playoffs. Photo courtesy of Dinur Blum.

Following the 2014-15 season Palmieri was dealt to the New Jersey Devils. Playing six seasons in the garden state Palmieri has compiled an impressive 259 points in 384 games including 136 goals. This season he has gotten off to a slower start as he has only scored four goals and has assisted on six others. The 10 points are surprisingly low for Palmieri as he usually averages about 45-50 points a season.

Palmieri would be a fantastic addition to the Bruins as he would slot in alongside David Krejci and Jake Debrusk. The line switch-up might be the spark that gets Debrusk and Kyle Palmieri off the schneid and helps the Bruins make a push for the Stanley cup.

Kyle Palmieri fires a shot ahead of a game agaisnt the Anaheim Ducks. Photo courtesy of Dinur Blum.

Defensive Depth Needed

The Bruins have dealt with their fair share of injuries this year. Defensemen such as Brandon Carlo, Jeremy Lauzon, and Keven Miller are currently all on injured reserve. They claimed Jarred Tinordi off of waivers to help with the lack of defensive depth but it would not hurt to have as much depth as possible.

Click here to check out this article on Jarred Tinordi being claimed off waivers by the Boston Bruins

Jason Demers

The player the Bruins should think about acquiring to help add some depth to their roster is Jason Demers. Demers is 32 years old and currently plays for the Arizona Coyotes. This season he has played 17 games for Arizona but he only has two points. The 12-year veteran has a career-high of 34 points so he clearly Demers will not help the Boston Bruins offense but he will be a solid option to play on any given night for the rest of the regular season and in the playoffs.

Final Thoughts on the Bruins Trade Deadline

The Bruins trade deadline needs to address the main issues. The team should add some defensive depth in Demers. The team also needs to address their goal-scoring issue by trading for Palmieri. If either of these players is suiting up for Boston after the trade deadline then Don Sweeney and the rest of the Bruins management will have had a successful trade deadline.

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