Deadline Buzz: Who's coming, who's going?

As March 4th approaches, the Bruins find themselves in a unique position: comfortably settled into a playoff spot, and, for the first time seemingly in years, being buyers at the trade deadline. Barring a collapse of epic proportions (think Yankees 2004, and multiply it by 10), the B's will find themselves in one of the top three spots in the Eastern Conference come April, and according to some recent comments by GM Peter Chiarelli, are gearing up for a serious run at Lord Stanley.

Also, today on WEEI's Dale & Holley, which is probably the best show on WEEI, as listening to the Big Show try to talk about hockey is about as helpful as me trying to teach Calculus, Chiarelli said there is a 60-75% chance that he WILL make a trade at the deadline.

This means a couple of things: management believes this team has a serious shot at the Cup, and appears to be ready to put the pedal to the metal and go for it. Also, it means that some current Bruins property is on his way out of town, which, with a team as tight-knit as this year's group, could have some bad side-effects. If a player sent away in a trade is from Providence, it may not impact this year's NHL team much. However, if it's a regular (or even a bit-role) player from the big club, it could disrupt what until this point has been a locker room that by all accounts has the atmosphere (attitude-wise, anyways) of a frat house.

Some names that I've heard bandied about that may disrupt the B's squad include Chuck Kobasew, Vladimir Sobotka, Matt Lashoff, and even the injured Marco Sturm. Chiarelli has shown that he's not shy about making trades, as referenced by sending the popular Brad Boyes packing in two years ago, a trade that, as made clear by Patrice Bergeron's comments in the link, wasn't popular in the room either. To put it plainly, there's no way player egos should be put before a real chance for the Cup, and I don't see any way he lets feelings or camaraderie get in the way. That's not to say he'll bring in a locker-room cancer, but if he feels a player is available that can help the team, he won't hesitate to pull the trigger.

In the "afore-linked" Hubhockey.com piece on Chiarelli's interview on WEEI today, it lists a couple of things that he mentioned on the show today, basically clues as to what he may be looking for at the deadline. His remarks included:

• He wants to get the team bigger up front, and add size in general.
  
• He would add a forward and a defenseman in a "perfect world", but is confident in the depth in Providence.

With those couple of things, especially the first one, let's try to narrow down the Bruins' possible trade targets.

• Nik Antropov, F, Toronto Maple Leafs- The writing is on the wall for the big Russian winger, as Leafs' GM Brian Burke has all but promised to trade the winger before the deadline. Antropov certainly fits the big-body mold (6'6", 230 lbs.), and is also a left-handed shot, playing on the right wing. With Burke's assertions that he will be moved, he may have lowered the market for the winger. The Bruins could probably have Antropov for a lower-level prospect (possibly Matt Lashoff, to solidify the Leafs defensive corps) and a first or second round pick. Antropov has 42 points on the year so far, but my concern is that he may not fit in the dressing room. I'm not sure there are any players on the team who have played with him before, and he seems like he may be out of place character-wise compared to the current group. However, he's a big-body who may thrive from a change of scenery, and would fill the need for a left-handed shot. Antropov is in the last year of his contract, and will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. LIKELIHOOD: 6.5/10.
• Keith Tkachuk, F, St. Louis Blues-Here's a story for you: local kid comes back to his hometown team and helps them win their first Stanley Cup in over 30 years. That's the scenario that could follow if Tkachuk comes to the Bruins. The Melrose, MA, native is in the last year of his contract in St. Louis, and is another big-bodied winger who shoots from the left. The problem here is that the Blues are currently still in the hunt for a playoff spot, sitting seven points out of 8th place at the time of this post, and may not be sellers at the deadline. In all likelihood, the next two weeks will settle it for the Blues. If they don't make a significant move towards a playoff berth, they'll be forced to make some trades. If this is the case, Tkachuk is, in my opinion, the most likely player out there who will pull on the black and gold for the first time after March 4th. He'd likely cost the B's though, probably a player like Martins Karsums or Vladimir Sobotka as well as a first or second round pick. LIKELIHOOD: 7.5/10
• Jordan Leopold, D, Colorado Avalanche- Leopold's name has been tossed about by Bruins fans for weeks now, with some sources saying a deal for Leopold is already in the works and nearing completion. The 28-year old Leopold, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would certainly solidifiy the Bruins' blue line. He wouldn't add much in size (6'1", 200 lbs.), but he is definitely a solid player. The former Hobey Baker Award winner would probably come with a decent price tag, but one deal that could materialize (and would be a blockbuster for sure) would be to send Manny Fernandez to the Avs. I feel like this isn't likely, since the B's seem comfortable playing the two-goalie system, but the Avalanche are in the market for a more solid goalie, and the free-agent-to-be Fernandez COULD fit the mold. If not, expect to see a winger (Kobasew, Sobotka, Karsums, Bitz or Nokelainen possibly) and maybe a couple of picks heading to Colorado. LIKELIHOOD: 7/10
• Erik Cole, F, Edmonton Oilers- Another big guy (6'2", 205 lbs.) who shoots from the left and plays on the wing. Seems like a good fit, and there were even reports that Cole was telling friends he thought he was Boston-bound. This is one trade I'd rather not see. In a player's bio on TSN.ca (the link on each player I've listed's name), there is a section called "Honors and Awards", and Cole's last one listed is winning the Stanley Cup...three years ago. No honors in three years, and slumping point production? Doesn't sound like a solid pick-up to me. The hope here is the Cole would wake up with a change of scenery, and could, upon reconnecting with Cup teammate Aaron Ward, find his game again. I'd rather stay away from this one, especially when the asking price seems to include Sobotka, and I think Chiarelli will think the same way. LIKELIHOOD: 5/10.
• Jay Bouwmeester, D, Florida Panthers- The "creme de la creme" in this year's trade pool, Bouwmeester is on every contender's wishlist, and the Bruins are no exception. However, as was the case with St. Louis, the Panthers are in a very real chase for a playoff spot, and may be hesitant to deal the big defenseman. GM Jacques Martin will likely decide soon, and may be forced to deal him. It's unlikely that Bouwmeester, who is an unrestricted free agent at season's end, would return to South Florida, so Martin needs to decide which is worth more: a foray into the playoffs, or getting something in return for Bouwmeester. In my opinion, trading Bouwmeester would sink the Panthers' season (and it's been a good one so far), and completely demoralize the team. However, if he does get dealt, expect the Bruins to at least make a call. The package for him would be huge, something to the effects of Zach Hamill, one of David Krecji, Phil Kessel or Milan Lucic, possibly Tuukka Rask, and a couple of picks as well. I think the bidding war and subsequent asking price will scare the B's away. LIKELIHOOD: 3/10.

There are other names that are being tossed about as possibilities for the B's, and here they are, in no particular order:

• Dominic Moore, F, Toronto Maple Leafs
• Ryan Smyth, F, Colorado Avalanche
• Chris Pronger, D, Anaheim Ducks
• Bill Guerin, F, New York Islanders
• Doug Weight, F, New York Islanders
• Mikael Samuesson, F, Detroit Red Wings

Anything's possible at the deadline, but in my opinion, the guys most likely to come to the Bruins are the ones I talked about more in depth at the top of this post. For the fun of it, here is my prediction for what the Bruins will do at the deadline:

TO BOSTON: F, Keith Tkachuk, 2010 4th-round draft pick
TO ST. LOUIS: D, Matt Lashoff, F, Vladimir Sobotka

I think that'll be it for the Bruins, and this is based purely on opinion, so don't hold me to this. If it came to fruition, it'd have the B's line-up looking something like this, when completely healthy:

Lucic-Savard-Kessel
Ryder-Krecji-Wheeler
Tkachuk-Bergeron-Kobasew
Bitz-Yelle-Thornton

Chara-Ward
Wideman-Ference
Hnidy-Stuart

Thomas
Fernandez

I do think that once Ryder returns, the lines will go back to how they were before, especially the top two. The third line, with the edition of Tkachuk, gets a lot bigger, and with a rough-and-tumbe guy like Kobasew, could be a line that could wear opponents down and grind out goals.

Other trade deadline predictions:

• Montreal, desperate to save their Centennial Season, will make any payment necessary to acquire Vincent Lecavalier from Tampa Bay.
  
• Pronger won't be dealt.
• Washington, Pittsburgh and Vancouver will make significant deals.
• Teams like New Jersey, San Jose and Philadelphia may make minor deals to tweak their rosters in preparation for the playoffs.
  

Even if the Bruins make no moves, the trade deadline is always a great day: HFBoards and TSN routinely crash with all of the server traffic, and the NHL Network will likely have trade specials on all day. It's going to be an interesting couple of months, and the stretch drive to Lord Stanley will begin in earnest on March 5th.