February 24, 2024 | 2:49pm ET
TheFourthPeriod.com
BRUINS CONSIDERING DEFENSIVE OPTIONS?
Bruins GM Don Sweeney
The Boston Bruins are exploring the trade market and looking to see who might be available over the next 13 days before the trade deadline hits on March 8 at 3pm ET.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney has been looking around for depth up the middle and would like to add at the centre position, but he is also considering his options on the blueline.
With limited salary cap space, any major acquisition could result in a roster player leaving the team.
There has been some chatter suggesting the Bruins could try to move goaltender Linus Ullmark, who has one more year left on his contract after this season and comes with a $5 million cap hit, but Sweeney does not plan on mixing things up inside the crease, at the moment.
One player the Bruins could pursue is Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Sean Walker.
According to TFP’s David Pagnotta, if the Flyers and Walker do not agree on a contract extension by the deadline and the asking price for him drops, Boston will engage and try to land him.
As the #LetsGoFlyers try to get Nick Seeler signed to an extension, they still haven’t formally started discussions with Sean Walker’s camp. If he isn’t signed by the deadline, and the price tag for him on the trade market drops, expect the #NHLBruins to engage.
— David Pagnotta (@TheFourthPeriod) February 24, 2024
Several other teams have been linked to Walker, however, including the Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, New Jersey Devils and Dallas Stars.
Without a first-round draft pick and a third-round pick in this summer’s draft and without a second-round pick until 2026, Sweeney’s draft capital is relatively low and that could push the team into moving out some young prospects as centerpieces in moves.
The Bruins are also believed to have poked around on such blueliners as Calgary’s Noah Hanifin, Washington’s Joel Edmundson and Anaheim’s Ilya Lyubushkin.