The Bruins are in need of a trade partner as they look to shed cap space to become compliant. The Bruins find themselves in a tough situation as they must move on from a couple of players, such as Mike Reilly and Craig Smith. Both players have been bounced from the lineup as this year’s team looks deeper than in years past. While both players are NHL caliber and would start on most teams around the league, there is no longer a fit for them in Boston, and at the end of the day, it is a business decision.
It’s reported that the Boston Bruins were one of several teams with scouts in attendance at the game between the Leafs and Sharks Wednesday night.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, scouts from Anaheim, St. Louis, Boston, Los Angeles, Dallas, Montreal, New Jersey, Detroit, Calgary, Arizona, Chicago, and Seattle were on hand to watch the game.
The Bruins organization is doing its due diligence in exploring every avenue possible to facilitate trade, even with a division rival like the Toronto Maple Leafs. The leafs would make sense for Mike Reilly as they have been banged up on defense all season and could be looking for some insurance for the second half of the season and into the playoffs.
The San Jose Sharks, on the other hand, is an interesting possibility considering they will most likely be sellers at the trade deadline. They have a few stars that could be on the move, with Erik Karlsson and Timo Meier being the names floated around recently. While acquiring Karlsson would be a significant plus to the Bruins’ top-four defensive core, the numbers do not make sense as Karlsson carries a massive cap hit of $11.5 million and is under contract trough the 2026-27 season.
Only time will tell what the Bruins are genuinely up to, but expect a trade to come soon as they must clear cap space first to get compliant and secondly make room if they want to add a player at this year’s trade deadline.
