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With less than a month to go until the NHL’s trade deadline, second-year GM Don Sweeney and the Bruins are making it known that they are buyers. Or window shoppers, at the very least.
Linked to both Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, the latter was the subject of TSN’s latest Insider Trading and immediately linked to the Bruins.
Pierre LeBrun noted that both the Bruins and Rangers have inquired on the availability of Shattenkirk, and have done so without the mention of the sign-and-trade, which has been long rumored to be the case with any deal involving the pending unrestricted free agent. In other words, the Bruins would seemingly be OK with making a move for Shattenkirk without the guarantee of a long-term deal.
The Blues are in a tricky spot, too, as they’re still a playoff club at this point, but could be better off getting something for the 28-year-old defender while they still can (something they understandably did not do with David Backes and Troy Brouwer last year in a load-up Cup push season) instead of hoping that the club’s goaltending issues resolve themselves before the end of the season.
The price on Shattenkirk is believed to be a high one, as is the case with almost any rental of this caliber, and one that the Bruins refused to pay last June when Blues GM Doug Armstrong allegedly asked for David Pastrnak and both of the B’s two first-round picks. Now, the price come March 1 would obviously not be as high as the one Armstrong initially tossed out there, but you’re likely still talking about a proven roster player and/or top prospect along with a first-round draft pick.
A native of New Rochelle, N.Y., Shattenkirk has 11 goals and 34 points in 50 games for the Blues this season.
On an on-ice note, both Patrice Bergeron and Tuukka Rask were missing from Friday’s practice.
Bergeron, who was smashed on the inside of his knee with a Matt Niskanen slapshot in the third period of Wednesday’s loss to the Capitals and called it a night after two post-incident shifts, has been labeled ‘day to day’ by the Bruins. The 31-year-old Bergeron has 12 goals and 26 points in 51 games this season, and missed the first three games of the season because of a lower-body injury.
Ryan Spooner took his spot between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak.
The Bruins are calling Rask’s absence a maintenance day.
The Bruins have just one win in 12 decisions from their backups this season.
Ty Anderson is the Boston Bruins beat writer for WEEI.com, and has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010. He can be heard on the Saturday Skate program on 93.7 WEEI (Boston), can also be found in the New England Hockey Journal magazine, and has been part of the Boston Chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Contact him on Twitter or send him an email at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.