There will be plenty of options for the Boston Bruins at the trade deadline when it comes to bolstering their top-6 attack.
Some seasons the B's have bagged a big target as they did a couple of years ago when they acquired Rick Nash from the New York Rangers, and there have been other seasons when more modest rental winger trades like Drew Stafford and Marcus Johansson have worked out very well for the Black and Gold.
But there is always a top target for the Bruins in each one of these trade deadlines since Don Sweeney took over as general manager, and this season will be no different for a B’s team sitting in first place in the Atlantic Division. The Rangers haven’t become sellers yet in the trade market, though there have curiously been rumors about the availability of backup goaltender Alexander Georgiev at this point in the season.
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But when they do become full-out sellers at some point in the second half of the season, big Rangers winger Chris Kreider will be the Bruins top option for a top-6 winger at the trade deadline, according to multiple hockey sources. It isn’t even a certainty that the Rangers will decide to part with a player that’s been a core member of their group since they selected him 19th overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, but it’s hard to imagine they would keep him given their status as a rebuilding franchise.
The 28-year-old Kreider has the size at 6-foot-3, 218-pounds and he’s got the skating speed that the Bruins are looking for in every player on their roster.
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Kreider has 16 goals and 31 points in 47 games this season for the Rangers, and is on pace for 28 goals and 54 points. He’s topped 20 goals four times during his career and surpassed 50 points a couple of times. Even better, Kreider represents a player that plays strong in front of the net and will bring a little edge to his game from time to time as well. The size, strength and skill combined with his background as an Eastern Conference player, a local kid and a former Boston College standout check many of the boxes for a Bruins scouting staff that seems to collect players just like Kreider on their NHL roster.
The one obvious drawback with Kreider is that his natural position is left wing, where the Bruins already have Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk on the top-6, but he would bring a different and much-needed element to that forward group given his style of play. It might push DeBrusk down to the third line and force guys like Danton Heinen and Anders Bjork to potentially play on the right side rather than the left side, but it would also undoubtedly strengthen their depth and overall quality of attack that will be needed in the postseason.
The other drawback for the Bruins is that Kreider will be in high demand as one of the top forwards on the rental market given his skill set, and that could mean the B’s will have to part with a first-round pick in order to ensure his acquisition.