BHN Puck Links: Would the Boston Bruins Do This Tarasenko Deal?

The Boston Bruins are being mentioned in the mix for Vladimir Tarasenko as the St. Louis Blues continue to explore moving their Russian sniper this offseason.

It’s no surprise that this report from FOH (Friend of Haggs) Jeremy Rutherford has St. Louis native Trent Frederic in the mix if Tarasenko did indeed come to Boston. It also goes without saying that the B’s would probably have to give up their first round pick if they wanted the Blues to retain some of his salary for the next few years. But according to Rutherford, the Blues “would make this deal yesterday” if it was Tarasenko for a 2021 first round pick and Frederic.

It very much remains to be seen if the B’s would want to roll the dice on a player in Tarasenko that’s approaching 30 years old with a handful of shoulder surgeries in his recent past. Clearly there’s a fit there if the Bruins slide Craig Smith back down to the third line right wing, and if they renounce their rights to RFA right wing Ondrej Kase after a couple of lost seasons due to concussion issues.

Still, you could take it to the bank that Tarasenko would be good for 30 goals and 70 points when he was healthy with St. Louis, and that’s exactly the kind of goal-scoring depth the Boston Bruins are still missing in the postseason.

Would you give up Frederic and a first round pick for Tarasenko, or try to get St. Louis to take DeBrusk and a first round pick instead while essentially killing two birds (acquiring Tarasenko and moving DeBrusk) with one stone in a blockbuster deal? It’s certainly worth thinking about, though I feel like the Boston Bruins are going to regret it if they end up waving goodbye to a player in Frederic that absolutely fits the Boston Bruins style like a glove.

Now on to the BHN Puck Links:

*Interesting to see some of the players that the Seattle Kraken are expected to snag in the NHL expansion draft when it goes down. (Detroit Hockey Now)

*Could Jake Voracek make the jump from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Pittsburgh Penguins just like Ron Hextall? Crazier things have happened. (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

*An interview “from the vault” with Lars Eller as NHL teams like the Washington Capitals stretch their muscles out for some offseason activity. (Washington Hockey Now)

*It looks like Kevin Labanc is on the trade block for the San Jose Sharks as they look to make tangible changes to an NHL roster that’s been riding the struggle bus for a while. (San Jose Hockey Now)

*What a timeline of Jaromir Jagr’s very forgettable time with the Washington Capitals that includes a cameo appearance from Bruce Cassidy. (The Athletic)

*Congrats to FOH Pierre McGuire on his new gig with the Ottawa Senators as he finally gets back into NHL management as he’s wanted to do for years. (Ottawa Sun)

*The Tampa Bay Lightning are having a parade today in Florida and it looks pretty darn fun.

The captain with the Cup. Guess we can get this parade started pic.twitter.com/UPRGXyEuhr

— Joe Smith (@JoeSmithTB) July 12, 2021

*For something completely different: Saw Black Widow over the weekend and it was solid MCU fare. Florence Pugh is going to make a very good successor as a Black Widow-esque hero. (MCU Direct)