The Boston Bruins are going to look like a pretty different team at the beginning of next season with little cap space to work with and a number of players in need of new contracts. This will not only cause them to lose players in free agency, but trade others. One name that’s been a trade candidate for a while now is Matt Grzelcyk as the Bruins had more than enough very capable defensemen.
Excluding Mike Reilly, the Bruins have six defensemen signed next season, and Jakub Zboril should be considered a seventh defenseman at best. Grzelcyk spent a good amount of time on the top pairing, but lost that spot when Dmitry Orlov came over at the trade deadline. Grzelcyk averaged just over 17 minutes of ice time, but was an impressive +46 on the record-setting Bruins. If they are going to have a cap casualty from their defensive group, it’s going to be him. He has one year left at $3.687 million. Here are two teams with potential interest in acquiring him this offseason.
Chicago Blackhawks
After the Chicago Blackhawks won the draft lottery and are set to pick first overall in this year’s draft, their rebuilding plans changed. When they select Connor Bedard, the next projected generational player, they are going to need to turn things around in a hurry and surround the young player with a solid group. While forwards might be a little more important to add since they will play right beside Bedard in his first year, the entire team is going to have to improve.
Related: 3 Forwards Blackhawks Can Add to Play Alongside Connor Bedard
Since the Blackhawks traded away a defensively-minded blueliner in Jake McCabe, they could replace him quite easily by taking advantage of the situation in Boston. I don’t think the Bruins are just going to give Grzelcyk away for nothing, but teams like the Blackhawks with lots of cap space can take on his entire contract and have a spot in the lineup for him. If they are going to have a quick and cost-effective turnaround, it starts by trading for players like this.
San Jose Sharks
As of right now the San Jose Sharks have room on their back-end, and that’s before they even trade Erik Karlsson, which is highly probable. The difference between the Blackhawks and Sharks is that San Jose would be a cap dump destination. The reason they should be interested is because Grzelcyk will come at a cheap price so the Bruins can move him and then the Sharks can flip him at the deadline or sign him. Either way, the Sharks would be getting their money’s worth in a trade and bolstering their defense for next season.
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