BHN Daily: Defensemen Flood Waiver Wire Before NHL Trade Deadline

With just over 24 hours until the NHL Trade deadline, the NHL waiver was flooded with some notable defensemen Sunday.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Victor Mete, New Jersey Devils rearguard Sami Vatanen and Detroit Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser were three of six blueliners to be waived as NHL teams like the Boston Bruins continue to scour the NHL Trade market for defensemen. Ottawa Senators defenseman Cody Goloubef, Red Wings defenseman Alex Biega, and Nashville Predators rearguard Josh Healey were also waived on Sunday. Teams now have until noon Monday to claim them.

About an hour after Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy informed the media (via Zoom) that the Bruins would be icing a defense reminiscent of one you could see the Providence Bruins icing these days in Marlborough, MA. against Zdeno Chara and the first-place Washington Capitals, could an alternative to the NHL trade market have presented itself to Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney and other GM’s who have been able to land a defenseman via trade?

Per #NHLBruins head coach Bruce Cassidy today, this is your Bruins defense tonight against #AllCaps:

Lauzon-Ahcan
Zboril-Kampfer
Tinordi-Clifton

But no, they don't need defense before the NHL Trade Deadline! 😉@BOSHockeyNow

— MurphysLaw74 (@MurphysLaw74) April 11, 2021

On Saturday night, Sportsnet NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman reported that the Boston Bruins were one of the multiple teams interested in acquiring another Red Wings defenseman, Jon Merrill. Of course one of Sweeney’s main targets has and continues to be a top 4 left-shot defenseman to go with hopefully a new top 6 winger, but in a constipated NHL Trade market and with the Bruins blue line being so depleted, beggars can’t be choosers. Sweeney, like many other GMs will also welcome depth defenseman almost just as much right now. God forbid a playoff team suffers a COVID outbreak like the one the Vancouver Canucks are still going through.

So, while Vatanen, whom the Bruins have tried to acquire in the past, or a Mete isn’t as sexy as a Mattias Ekholm or Ryan Ellis on the NHL Trade market, there still capable NHL defenseman that can help and provide the depth every team with Stanley Cup aspirations needs. In the famous words of the great Scotty Bowman: ‘You can never have enough defensemen.”

Now onto the rest of the BHN Daily Links:

The Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be two teams very much in the mix for Los Angeles Kings winger Alex Iafallo and Anaheim Ducks defenseman Josh Manson. That and more in the latest ‘Off The Record’. (Boston Hockey Now)

The Bruins will once again be without defenseman Matt Grzelcyk when they host the Washington Capitals Sunday night. (Boston Hockey Now)

The Philadelphia Flyers are another team looking for blueline help but could they be trading away a fan favorite as well? (Philly Hockey Now)

The Colorado Avalanche added more goaltending depth on Saturday. (Colorado Hockey Now)

Could winger Mike Hoffman join his third team in a year before the NHL Trade Deadline? (Vegas Hockey Now)

Could New York Rangers center and North Andover, MA native Colin Blackwell be traded before the NHL Trade Deadline tomorrow? (New York Post)

The Tampa Bay Lightning got even better before the NHL Trade Deadline. (Lightning Insider)

Finally, congrats to my alma mater and the University of Massachusetts Hockey Program. The flagship got the ship Saturday night, beating St. Cloud St. 50 in the 2021 NCAA Hockey National Championship!