BHN Daily: Bruins-Isles Leftovers; NHL Trade Market; Whiny Dougie

The NHL Trade and free agent rumor circuit are already churning and the Boston Bruins are already smack dab in the middle of it!

One could argue that the Boston Bruins 2021 season came to a halting end with their 6-2 Game 6 loss to the New York Islanders in the East Division Final. However, one could also argue it was an expected conclusion for a team that had worn out its defensive depth and was simply not deep enough in size and durability. In the famous words of the late NFL coach Dennis Green:

“They are what we thought they were!” 

We’ve got you covered with both sides of the series that the more it became physical, the more the Boston Bruins wilted and were eventually eliminated. How will Don Sweeney use a projected $30 million in cap space on the NHL Trade and free agent markets?

We also have the West Division Final and the only remaining second round series still going between the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. Can the Avs keep that series going and force a Game 7?

Dougie Hamilton can’t seem to grow up or stop whining!

That and more in your first BHN Daily of the 2021 Boston Bruins offseason:

My partner-in-crime Joe Haggerty has the Game 6 gamer from the Bruins side. (BHN)

Our National Hockey Now Islanders guru Christian Arnold with more on the Islanders extending their tenure at the Nassau Coliseum for at least two more games in the Stanley Cup Playoff semifinals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. (NYI Hockey Now)

Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask confirmed that he played injured and could get offseason surgery. (BHN)

As Haggs writes, the Bruins were just too depleted and not deep enough to handle the bruising Islanders attack. (BHN)

Get ready for a very busy offseason for the Boston Bruins and prepare to see a much different Bruins squad next season! (BHN)

The Islanders will get a chance to avenge their 2020 Eastern Conference Final loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2021 semifinals. (NYI Hockey Now)

Veteran Islanders winger has found his game again just at the right time. (NYI Hockey Now)

National Hockey Now

Here’s your Colorado Avalanche preview for Game 6 tonight. (CHN)

Can the Avalanche show they are more than a video game and analytics juggernaut like the Toronto Maple Leafs? (CHN)

New Jersey Devils defenseman and longtime Bruins’ nemesis PK Subban is taking his game into broadcasting for the rest of the postseason. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Kevin Allen examines how a trade this past season in which the Red Wings became a third party absorbed salary cap space to facilitate a trade between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Lightning. How could it affect trades the Wings make this offseason? (Detroit Hockey Now)

Ian Lapierre is ready for his next chapter as head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers’ AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms. (Philly Hockey Now)

The NHL Trade rumor circuit is already in full swing, despite the fact the Stanley Cup Playoffs are still going. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

NHL

Are the 2021 Montreal Canadiens similar to the 2019 St. Louis Blues team that beat the Boston Bruins in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final? (TSN)

Have some cheese with your whine Dougie Hamilton! (The Athletic)

The NHL has named its three Hart Trophy Finalists. (NHL)

Congrats to Friend of BHN Kevin Weekes on his new gig with ESPN! (NY Post)