Trade-deadline primer: Boston Bruins

One possibility is the status of Jake Debrusk, who has struggled this season and could find himself on the trade market as someone who could be swapped for another forward. Debrusk, who scored 27 goals in 2018-19 and 19 goals in a shortened 2019-20, has just one goal and five points in 16 games, emphasizing his struggles. However, the problem is that teams won’t be trading top value for the 24-year-old, which could be an issue for the Bruins depending on offers. On top of that, Debrusk will be making $4.85 million in base salary next season, another thing with which few playoff teams may be willing to deal. However, Debrusk could be a big piece if Boston hopes to make a big trade before the deadline.

One other possibility, although the Bruins would probably prefer to avoid it, is Trent Frederic could be a potential trade chip as well. The young forward has fared well in his rookie campaign and has added some grit to Boston’s lineup. Of course, the offense might take more time to develop as he has just three goals this season. However, while Boston would prefer to hang on to Frederic, the Bruins could be forced to include the young center if they team is trying to pry away a big name.

Others to watch for: F John Beecher, F Ondrej Kase.

Team needs

1) Top-four defensemen – The Bruins have been ravaged by injury to their blueline with Kevan Miller and Jeremy Lauzon on injured reserve. Brandon Carlo is out week-to-week after taking a massive hit from Washington’s Tom Wilson. Zdeno Chara is now in Washington, and the Bruins are left with some questionable options on defense. At the moment, Boston is using Jarred Tinordi and Urho Vaakanainen as its third pairing, which is something the Bruins weren’t anticipating at the beginning of the season. Don’t be surprised if the Bruins look at some of the big defensive names on the trade market.

2) More scoring — One of the biggest needs the Bruins have had over the years is getting production out of their middle-six as those lines have struggled, and little has changed. Nick Ritchie leads that middle six with eight goals this season, followed by five for Charlie Coyle and four for Craig Smith. No one else has more than three goals. That’s something the Bruins might want to add if Boston has the cap space and the assets to pull that off.