Can the Bruins realistically pull off a roster-reshuffling trade for J.T. Miller or Elias Pettersson?
The Bruins would have to get creative in order to bring in a star forward from Vancouver.
The Bruins have several options moving forward in what is quickly turning into a rudderless season.
The current course of waiting for a flawed roster to start pulling its weight recently led to a six-game losing streak – and the very real possibility of Boston plummeting out of the playoff picture entirely.
Ahead of the March 7 trade deadline, Don Sweeney and Boston’s top brass could embrace a youth movement — turning to youngsters like Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell, and Georgii Merkulov in hopes of an immediate spark, or for some much-needed reps before earning an even greater role in 2025-26.
If the writing’s on the wall that the Bruins are doomed to miss the playoffs (or limp in en route to a first-round beatdown), Sweeney and Co. could opt to follow the path of the Capitals in 2023 and sell off assets not long for the team — especially pending free agents like Trent Frederic — in exchange for more draft picks.
Unlike in previous years where Sweeney relinquished first-round picks for rentals in hopes of putting a core anchored by players like Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci over the top, a similar strategy this winter would be akin to putting duct tape across a shattered hull of a ship.
Short-term measures aren’t going to cut it for this team.
But could there be an appetite for the Bruins to shake up their roster — and acquire an impact player both for the 2024-25 campaign and beyond?
Such a scenario is usually only reserved for message-board musings or rants echoed across sports-radio airwaves.
But it looks as though the Vancouver Canucks might be willing to indulge in such a move with at least one of their two top-six centers in J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.
“League sources have confirmed that the Vancouver Canucks are listening on both J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson,” The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun wrote last week.
“With the season going the way it has and the drama in the room involving the players, Canucks general manager Patrik Allvin is wise to at least see what the market is for each. It doesn’t mean either will be moved, but the mere fact we know for sure the Canucks are talking to teams on each player is certainly not nothing.”
A reported personal feud between both Pettersson and Miller — a narrative with a few more legs than the alleged Brad Marchand / David Pastrnak beef in Boston — coupled with Vancouver’s own up-and-down play this year has apparently caused the Canucks to consider the nuclear option.
And if Vancouver is serious about moving one of those two pivots this season, the Bruins make plenty of sense as a suitor. According to Marco D’Amico of RG.org, the Bruins have already expressed interest in that potential sweepstakes.
For a Bruins team hindered all season long by a dearth of scoring — especially at the center position — both Miller and Pettersson stand as potential saviors in black-and-gold sweaters.
Pettersson is the more valued asset, given that he just turned 26 years old in November. The Swede has already cultivated a reputation as a proven top-six center with a lethal shot — racking up 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) during the 2022-23 campaign before posting 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists) last year.
Any team acquiring Pettersson would not only receive an immediate lift in 2024-25 — but a franchise pillar just entering his prime who is signed through the end of the 2031-32 campaign.
Miller may not be as appealing of an investment, given that he will turn 32 years old in March and is still signed through the 2029-30 season. But in terms of immediate results, Miller is still a force — and conceivably could be for the next couple of seasons.
Miller has surpassed 70 points four times in his career, including a 103-point campaign (37 goals, 66 assists) last season with the Canucks. Add in Miller’s proficiency at faceoffs (57.9 percent this season), physicality, and intense disposition, and the veteran could be a player that teams looking for a push in the next few seasons covet.
Even if Pettersson might be the more valued asset given his age and the appeal of adding him to a core alongside David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman, Miller is probably the more realistic target for a team like Boston.
Beyond the higher asking price for Pettersson, the younger forward is also commanding an $11.6 million annual cap hit for the next eight seasons.
Miller’s AAV is still pretty steep at $8 million, but shaving off nearly $4 million when compared to Pettersson’s deal could make a deal easier for a cap-crunched squad like Boston.
Miller would also be a welcome sight on Boston’s beleaguered power play (13.2 percent, 30th in NHL). From 2021-24, Miller ranks eighth among all NHLers in power-play points (108) — 10 more points than Pastrnak over that same stretch.
Of course, any team desperate for a scoring punch on the power play would love to add someone like Miller to their roster.
But just how viable are the Bruins as legitimate players for Pettersson or Miller?
While the Bruins might be willing to relinquish more draft capital (an annual tradition in recent years for Boston) or even youngsters like Matt Poitras and Mason Lohrei in order to get a deal done, Boston’s barren prospect pipeline means that they aren’t exactly going to outbid other interested parties offering up their next wave of young talent.
Even though Sweeney has not made a first-round pick in back-to-back years since 2016-17, the Bruins might view a star with term like Pettersson or Miller as worth the steep price.
But even with a deal involving first-round picks or younger players like Lohrei/Poitras, Boston will also need to move out plenty of money (via roster players) in order to take on a contract like Miller or Pettersson.
With Boston currently operating with a projected $1.23 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), Sweeney and Co. would have to be creative.
Pivots like Pavel Zacha ($4.75 million AAV) or Charlie Coyle ($5.25 million AAV) could be potential options, although both also have no-movement clauses in their respective contracts. Pending UFA forwards like Frederic ($2.3 million AAV) could also sweeten the pot.
A Vancouver roster that has taken on water defensively could focus on a blueliner like Hampus Lindholm ($6.5 million AAV, no-movement clause) or Brandon Carlo ($4.1 million AAV, 10-team no-trade list).
Giving up a top-pairing blueliner like Lindholm — along with a forward on the roster and potentially a first-round pick/prospect — would sting.
But for a desperate team in need of shake-up, the Bruins should leave no stone unturned when it comes to making changes — especially if it nets an impact player in return from Vancouver.
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