Where Bruins Could Make Move At Trade Deadline

It’s hard to believe the Bruins will shake things up at the NHL trade deadline in the middle of a potentially historic season.

That’s not to say they couldn’t make slight improvements or at least add some valuable depth.

The March 3 deadline is just over a month away. The NHL All-Star Break is this weekend, and Boston’s “bye week” is added to the break. After Wednesday’s game in Toronto, the B’s won’t be back on the ice until Feb. 11.

This is the perfect time not only to recharge, but also to do some self-recognition and start preparing for the next deadline. Given how good the Bruins have been in all areas of the game, there aren’t any pressing needs, but Don Sweeney and the front office would have been honed in at least one area on the list.

“Boston is also believed to be in the left-wing defense market,” Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman wrote in his weekly 32 Thoughts column. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they checked Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov, among others.”

Friedman added, “They have a special chemistry, and tampering with that can be dangerous. But it’s been an absolutely crazy year because you don’t know how long the band will be together.

The obvious places to start with potential targets are Chychrun and Gavrikov. Chychrun has been a name associated with the Bruins for some time. Boston was reportedly one of a handful of teams in the hunt for Arizona’s blue liner last year. The Coyotes ultimately decided to keep the 24-year-old, but with little progress this season they could revisit the option at the deadline. The fourth period recently reported that there are at least six teams tied to the American-born D-man. It won’t be cheap, however. The reported asking price is three to four assets, including a first-round pick.