Leafs' Atlantic Division rival trying to make one last major move ahead of season
The Boston Bruins are in desperate need of a top six center and could be preparing to dip into the trade market to make something happen before the start of the season. There is some belief that the Bruins could step in and snatch Mark Scheifele from the Winnipeg Jets. The veteran forward has popped back up on the open market and the Bruins have serious interest with a major at the top of their lineup.
Entering the final year of his contract, the Jets haven't been able to take that much-needed leap forward in the postseason with the likes of Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Connor Hellebuyck and are reportedly looking for a shake-up after parting ways with Blake Wheeler via a buyout earlier this summer.
Scheifele, drafted with the 7th overall pick in 2011 NHL Entry Draft, has 272 goals and 645 points in 723 games across 12 seasons in Winnipeg. He is coming off a season in which he scored 42 goals and also has 32 points in 37 post-season contests. Everything that the Bruins would be craving with the departures of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
According to Daily Faceoff, the Bruins have Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle, Morgan Geekie, and Jesper Boqvist as their 4 centres, which is just not good enough if they intend to contend and make a deep playoff run. Inserting Scheifele in between David Pastrnak and James van Riemsdyk is a whole lot better than their current options.
Scheifele carries a cap hit of $6.125 million, but the Bruins are currently only $429,166 above the $83.5 million salary cap, so they'd have to move some money to make things work. The Jets are not in a position where they're rebuilding yet either, so they would be expecting a decent haul that would include NHL roster players for a player like Scheifele.
The Bruins' Cup window is up in the air, but with David Pastrnak's 8-year extension kicking in this season, it's time they make a move to keep up with the rest of the Eastern Conference.
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 5 | 131 ANSWERS Leafs' Atlantic Division rival trying to make one last major move ahead of season Is Mark Scheifele the right piece for the Boston Bruins? | ||
| Yes | 52 | 39.7 % |
| No | 42 | 32.1 % |
| They can't afford anyone good | 37 | 28.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
