In the market for a defensemen and with a week to go before the NHL trade deadline, the Boston Bruins have reportedly expressed heavy interest in adding Philadelphia’s Andrej Meszaros.

It’s now been two months since the Bruins lost defensemen Dennis Seidenberg to a season-ending knee injury -- Seidenberg’s recovery from a torn ACL and MCL is expected to take five to six months -- and Boston’s front office has finally admitted that they can’t replace Seidenberg.

But damned if they don’t try.

Skating in his fourth season with the Flyers, the 28-year-old Meszaros has been in and out of head coach Craig Berube’s doghouse in 2013-14, playing in just 35 of Philadelphia’s 59 games this year. However, Meszaros has been productive when in the lineup, recording four goals and 16 points.

And with a recent (positive) surge in his play earning him more minutes for a Philly club in the thick of the East’s crowded playoff picture, Meszaros presents Flyers’ general manager Paul Holmgren with a difficult decision: Do you move the would-be free agent for an asset or keep him for depth throughout the Flyers’ final 20-plus games in a bid for a playoff run?

I think that it’s fair to suggest that even with his struggles at times, Meszaros is one of Philadelphia’s six best blue-liners. (Though I may be biased in that regard given my preference for Erik Gustafsson over Nicklas Grossmann, who I’ve found to be a square peg trying to fit into a round hole since coming to Philly from Dallas a few years back now.)

Meszaros isn’t necessarily a specialist in any regard either, as he entered tonight’s game against San Jose with 49 hits (fourth among Philly defenders) and 44 blocked shots, making his 17:10 of average time-on-ice quite appealing for a Boston club that arguably just needs a mid-tier two-way defender.

So, while Meszaros is a free agent this summer and though he does carry a $4 million cap-hit this season, there’s value in his game. For both the Flyers and for anybody interested in his services.

At the same time, however, Meszaros’ trade value isn’t that of a franchise changer for Philadelphia. The rumor mill suggests that the 6-foot-2 defender could fetch a third round, or maybe a second round draft pick and/or a mid-tier prospect at the AHL level or perhaps lower. Is that return really worth making a trade that’d line a 38-year-old Hal Gill up as your seventh D-man?

(Is anything really worth that?)

But again, if the Bruins are indeed interested, expect a serious push to land Meszaros in the Hub.

For one, the word is that Meszaros has an advocate in the Boston room, and that it’s Boston’s captain, the 6-foot-9 Zdeno Chara. A teammate of Chara in 2005-06 with the Ottawa Senators, and with Chara as recently as just a few weeks ago during the Olympic Games in Sochi as part of the Team Slovakia defense, Chara’s reported vote of confidence in Meszaros is as good as gold in the B’s room.

And like many B’s targets past and present, Meszaros is a player that came into the league through the Ottawa Senators system. Drafted by the Sens with the 23rd overall pick in 2004, Meszaros was taken with the now-B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli as part of the Ottawa cabinet.

As we’ve seen, Chiarelli’s not afraid to take a Sen or two, regardless of age or attachment. See: Chara, Chris Kelly, Wade Redden, and even Brandon Bochenski.

But what are the B’s willing to move? Well, not anybody you’re seeing on this current roster. Defensemen Kevan Miller (recently inked to an extension), Matt Bartkowski, and probably Adam McQuaid are here to stay. Boston likes their forward depth as it’s currently constituted and aren’t likely to move anybody, though that’s probably the last thing Philadelphia needs right now (but again, it’s the Philadelphia Flyers, so who the hell really knows).

So, what can the Bruins offer? Ideally, a draft choice and nothing more.

Yet, if moving Meszaros requires an asset heading back to Philadelphia to calm any worries Holmgren would have about selling parts off with his team not exactly out of it, a Providence blue-liner such as David Warsofsky (though undersized and not a shutdown type the Flyers crave) or Zach Trotman provide interesting talking points, at the very least.

Forced into Boston’s lineup at various points this year, the 5-foot-9 Warsofsky has seemed a bit ‘showcased’ -- at least to the naked eye -- given the organization’s wealth of youth and with one puck-mover already with the big club in Torey Krug. In Boston, Warsofsky’s made the most of his opportunities, recording a goal and two points in six NHL games this year.

Trotman would seemingly present an interesting case for the Flyers as well. Skating at an imposing 6-foot-4, the 23-year-old Trotman could be a piece that steps in and by all means replaces Meszaros in the now for Berube’s squad. The Carmel, Ind. native has recorded five goals, 14 points, and a plus-15 in 36 games for the P-Bruins this season, though he’s scoreless in two NHL contests.

Like most of what you read this time of year, any theoretical return heading back to Philadelphia in the form of a prospect is pure speculation on my behalf at this moment, though a second or third round pick has been confirmed as a legitimate asking price for a veteran like Meszaros.

But if you're looking for a comparison, perhaps last year's deadline deal that brought Redden to Boston from St. Louis seems to fit the bill. Redden was a considerably successful reclamation project with the Blues, and was ultimately moved to Boston for a conditional seventh round draft choice. Obviously, I'd have to think that Meszaros' value is higher than that of a seventh rounder, but by how much? We'll just have to (maybe) wait and see.

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