BHN Daily: Bruins Should Say No To Oliver Ekman-Larsson Trade

The Boston Bruins need to count their blessings that they didn’t acquire Arizona Coyotes captain Oliver Ekman-Larsson on the NHL trade market last offseason and not try to trade for him now.

The Bruins came really close to acquiring Oliver Ekman-Larsson last offseason. In the end, though, neither they nor the other club OEL said he’d waive his no-movement club for, the Vancouver Canucks, could snag Ekman-Larsson off the NHL Trade market. According to Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, one of the major reasons a trade didn’t occur was because Coyotes GM Bill Armstrong was only willing to absorb $1.25 million of Ekman-Larsson’s $8.25 million AAV per season with nearly $50 million in real cash to be paid on his contract.

The Boston Bruins currently have $30.2 million in cap space but still have plenty of internal work to do with nine unrestricted free agents – including Tuukka Rask, David Krejci, and Taylor Hall – to sign and three restricted free agents – including Brandon Carlo – as well. They’re on record as saying they’re still targeting ‘that elusive Left D’ as Boston Bruins President Cam Neely termed it, but that should not be Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The 29-year-old is in a steady decline and just isn’t worth the six years of cap misery remaining at this point, even if, as Seravalli suggested, the Coyotes add in Scituate, MA native Conor Garland. 

Just say no to Oliver Ekman-Larsson and move on!

More Bruins News

Did the PHWA finally show respect for ‘The Perfection Line’ and more specifically, Brad Marchand? Yes, but they really have no clue what the Norris Trophy is about voting former Boston Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton ahead of Charlie McAvoy. Hamilton is a nightmare in his own end and the neutral zone; McAvoy is the new Drew Doughty! (Boston Hockey Now)

At long last, the hockey Maniacs will be able to cheer on Boston Bruins prospects again. The Maine Mariners are back! (Boston Bruins)

Stanley Cup Final

Could the Montreal Canadiens be playing in front of more fans for Games 3 and 4? (Sportsnet)

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be missing forward Alex Killorn for Game 2 tonight. (ESPN)

As I tweeted during Game 1, the Habs were too committed to the big hit and getting under the collective skin of the Lightning. That approach led to costly turnovers, as did trying too hard to beat the Bolts off the rush. They will need to shift to a dump and chase and not worry as much about being pests in Game 2. (NHL.com)

Don’t count the resilient Canadiens out just yet! (Montreal Gazette)

National Hockey Now

Fleury! Fleury! Fleury! Marc-Andre Fleury won the Vezina Trophy. Finally! (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

Sheng Peng was one of the select writers who got to vote on the NHL Awards. That’s an honor and well deserved! Sheng published his ballot and his reasons why. You’ll like some…some maybe not. (San Jose Hockey Now)

Did former UMass-Amherst star and 2019 Hobey Baker Award winner Cale Makar get shafted in the Norris Trophy voting? (Colorado Hockey Now)

Dan Kingerski pooled a panel of senior NHL writers (who also happen to work for the National Hockey Now Network), on what it will take for the Penguins to keep Evgeni Malkin after next season. 

After another heartbreaking exit from the Stanley Cup playoffs, how will the expansion draft, free agency, and a salary cap crunch affect the New York Islanders? (NYI Hockey Now)

Our lads at NYI Hockey Now also think Jordan Eberle could be exposed to Seattle in the expansion draft. (NYI Hockey Now) 

How much do the current Red Wings suck? Bob Duff assembled the numbers–WOW. They are the worst Red Wings… EVER. (Detroit Hockey Now)

The Florida Panthers added a new coach who used to play with some grit: Tuomo Ruutu. (Florida Hockey Now)

Has Daniel Sprong sprung from irrelevance to be a key piece of the puzzle for the Washington Capitals? (Washington Hockey Now)

NHL

We finally know what kept Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews out of the lineup for an entire season and that he will return for the 2021-22 season. My heart goes out to Jonathan for what he went through because I deal with a complicated immune deficiency every day but I’m sorry, the timing of this announcement, as his team is under fire for covering up a sexual assault accusation, is just too fishy. 

https://twitter.com/JonathanToews/status/1410244274986303488

Finally, there’s plenty of people rejoicing that this Stanley Cup Final is the swang song for the NHL on NBC, and hey to each their own. I myself loved their coverage and plenty of people that IMHO did a great job putting the NHL back on the map in the United States over the last 15 years. Regardless of your opinion though, don’t be one of those piling up the insults towards hard-working pioneers like Pierre McGuire. Be better than that! (Athletic)