Bruins ‘believed’ to be in the market for a left defenseman
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Report: Bruins ‘believed’ to be in the market for a left defenseman originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins are the favorites to win the Stanley Cup this season, but they could still use some reinforcements before the March 3 NHL trade deadline.
There’s no doubt the Bruins would benefit from another defenseman. But which type of defenseman might they target?
Here’s what Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts column Wednesday:
“Boston is also believed to be in the left-defence market. Would not be surprised if they’ve checked in on Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov, among others. They’ve got special chemistry, and tampering with that can be dangerous. But this is an absolute go-for-it year because you don’t know how long the group will be together. You also don’t know how long you’ll have your top two centres combining for $3.5 million against the cap — an absolute gift from Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. (Yes, they’ll have to deal with bonuses next season, but it’s still a gift.)”
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The Bruins are in pretty good shape on the left side of the blue line.
Hampus Lindholm is on pace to set a new single-season career high in points, and he has played like a true top-pairing defenseman all season. His excellent two-way performance has given the Bruins two legit No. 1 d-men, along with Charlie McAvoy. It’s been a while since Boston was in that position.
Matt Grzelcyk also is playing well on the left side. He’s been driving puck possession at a good rate and producing offense on a more consistent basis. Ten of his 19 points have come in the last 15 games. Derek Forbort has been a strong, physical presence on the third pairing and one of the most important players on the league’s top-ranked penalty kill. He ranks No. 1 on the B’s with 5.53 blocked shots per 60 minutes.
Boston also has veteran defenseman Mike Reilly, who is a left-hand…
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