The NHL trade deadline did not disappoint.
After several months of relative inactivity on the trade market, the last few days before Monday's deadline produced a bunch of impactful trades that saw the top contenders for the Stanley Cup bolster their rosters for the upcoming playoffs.
Bruins improved at trade deadline, but path to Cup Final got even tougher
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The Colorado Avalanche have been the betting favorite to win the Stanley Cup throughout the season, and they remain on top after acquiring underrated two-way forward Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Josh Manson.
The Florida Panthers are the favorite to emerge as Eastern Conference champions and they went all-in at the trade deadline. They acquired top-six forward Claude Giroux and top-four defenseman Ben Chiarot.
The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the last two Stanley Cup titles and paid a steep price to bring in 20-goal scorer Brandon Hagel from the Chicago Blackhawks. Tampa Bay also acquired bottom-six forwards Nick Paul and Riley Nash for valuable depth.
NHL trade grades: Experts assess Bruins' deal for Hampus Lindholm
Boston Bruins
The Carolina Hurricanes (Max Domi), Toronto Maple Leafs (Mark Giordano), Calgary Flames (Tyler Toffoli, Calle Jarnkrok) and Pittsburgh Penguins (Rickard Rakell) all made good roster additions leading up to the deadline as well.
Here are the latest Stanley Cup title odds, via PointsBet.
- Colorado Avalanche: +350
- Florida Panthers: +600
- Tampa Lightning: +725
- Carolina Hurricanes: +900
- Calgary Flames: +900
- Toronto Maple Leafs: +1200
- Pittsburgh Penguins: +1600
- Minnesota Wild: +1800
- Vegas Golden Knights: +2000
- New York Rangers: +2000
- Boston Bruins: +2200
It's a little surprising to see the Boston Bruins so low on this list.
Sure, the Bruins have a very tough road to the Cup Final, especially if they secure a playoff spot from the Atlantic Division. It's possible the Bruins might need to beat the Lightning, Panthers and Hurricanes before reaching the Cup Final. That's an incredibly difficult road.
Boston is a hard team to play against, though. The goaltending, led by rookie Jeremy Swayman, has been excellent since Jan. 1. The Bruins also rank in the top 10 of many puck possession and defensive metrics. They don't give up a lot of scoring chances or goals.
The Bruins did make a few moves at the trade deadline, acquiring star defenseman Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks and depth defenseman Josh Brown from the Ottawa Senators. A lack of quality blue line depth has proven costly for the B's in recent playoff runs, but that likely won't be the case in 2022.
The Bruins are an experienced team that plays a strong defensive game with good goaltending. That's a pretty solid recipe for playoff success.