The Bruins have been up against the cap since the summer as they had no serious money to work with. Somehow, general manager Don Sweeney has made it work between LTIR and sending players through waivers to the AHL. The Bruins still must clear money to be compliant by the end of the season, as they currently have $51,514 in cap space.
Multiple players have had their names thrown around as trade options this season. The most apparent trade options for the Bruins are disgruntled defenseman Mike Reilly, who is currently in the AHL with the Providence Bruins, and forward Craig Smith, who has been healthy scratched several times this season.
Other names have floated around, such as Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk, but at this time, those two seem safer bets to stick around than any of the others. Another player to keep an eye on is Anton Stralman, who joined the Bruins on a PTO during training camp, but he cleared waivers over two weeks ago and still hasn’t reported to the AHL.
According to Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, the Winnipeg Jets could be interested in at least one of those players.
”With some key forwards like Nikolaj Ehlers suddenly out with injuries, the Winnipeg Jets are starting to scour the NHL trade market for forward depth. Will they call the Boston Bruins about winger Craig Smith who was scratched for a second straight game on Thursday night and has been a healthy scratch for five games this season?”
So far this season, Craig Smith has recorded one goal and two assists across 16 games and just continues the downward trend he began last season. After being nonexistent in the playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes last year, Smith could not impress new head coach Jim Montgomery in training camp. The Bruins are too deep this year and have talent waiting in Providence for them to keep Smith and his $3.1 million cap hit in Boston.
