The Boston Bruins are a team in the middle of a change in identity. The once eastern conference powerhouse is now in the midst of a retool, coming off its worst season in decades.
Two players who have persistently been linked to the Bruins trade block of late are forward Pavel Zacha and goaltender Jonas Korpisalo via James Murphy.
The 28 year old Pavel Zacha recorded 14 goals and 33 assists for 47 points in 82 games with the Bruins last season. The Czech native surpassed 50 points in his previous two seasons with the club. Zacha is a solid 2nd line forward on a contending team with a cap hit of $4.7 million.
The 31 year old Jonas Korpisalo struggled in a backup role with the Bruins last year, totaling a 11-10-3 record with a 2.90 goals against average and .893 save percentage in his first season with the organization. He carries a $4 million cap hit, expensive for a contender looking for a backup goalie.
The question comes to what the Bruins are looking for in exchange for these two assets. Presumably, they are looking for futures as a rebuild looks inevitable in Beantown. The Bruins could also go the opposite route as they currently have a little over $2 million in cap space. Moving on from these players would open up around $10 million in cap to go after talent to surround David Pastrnak if the Bruins look to quickly get back in contention while they have him in his prime. It will be interesting to see which direction the B’s decide to take as the summer comes to a close.
