Daily Bean: Bruins Gameday; Goalie Fight, Trade Talk, More Injuries in New Jersey

It is a Boston Bruins gameday. The Bruins, who rank as the first Wild Card, are taking on the Stars, who sit third in the Central.

The Bruins were involved in trade chatter as this weekend approached. They walked on one player that they were close to landing, as he did not come with a contract extension. Another player they had their eyes on went elsewhere. 

There’s more, starting with a new trade board as the February 4 roster freeze approaches. Elsewhere around the league, there was a goalie fight; the first since 2020. The New Jersey Devils have been hit by the injury bug again; this time, it was a different Hughes brother. Also, Jonathan Toews made a heartwarming return to Chicago last night. 

Happy Tuesday, let’s get into today’s Daily Bean. 

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins (28-19-2) are rounding out their siblings’ trip in Texas tonight. They take on the Dallas Stars (27-13-9) tonight, looking to continue their six-game win streak. On the other hand, Dallas is 2-6-2 in their last 10 games. Boston is hot, Dallas is not. 

The Bruins lost out on the Rasmus Andersson sweepstakes over the weekend, and another trade target, Kiefer Sherwood, was traded. But the Bruins previewed their trade deadline stance. The front office showed that they are looking for more long-term solutions as opposed to a short-term rental.

NHL News & National Hockey Now

San Jose Hockey Now: The San Jose Sharks acquired forward Kiefer Sherwood on Monday afternoon. They gave up two second-round picks and a 25-year-old defenseman who has spent his entire career in the AHL. Sheng Peng at SJHN has the analysis, including some scouts who are high on their acquisition. 

The Athletic ($): Before the trade yesterday, Chris Johnston released a trade board. The trade deadline will be here on March 6, but February 4-22 is a roster freeze. Artemi Panarin tops the board, Nazem Kadri, Dougie Hamilton, and Luke Schenn follow. For the Bruins, defenseman Andrew Peeke is listed as No. 23. 

New Jersey Hockey Now: The New Jersey Devils have been battered by injuries this season. The initial report is that Luke Hughes separated his shoulder, and he will miss at least the remainder of the Devils’ four-game road trip out West. He was injured in the second period of New Jersey’s game with Calgary. 

Chicago Hockey Now: Jonathan Toews returned to Chicago yesterday. Ahead of the game, he spoke about his return to Chicago. He called it “weird,” but that is understandable after 15 years and three Stanley Cups. 

Chicago Hockey Now: Here’s the video of Jonathan Toews’ tribute from the Chicago Blackhawks. The Chicago fans treated him to a long ovation during their game on Monday against Winnipeg. 

Sportsnet: Team Italy released its roster for the 2026 Olympics in Milan. The roster features all players currently playing in Europe. Two of their rostered players (Damian Clara, Thomas Larkin) were drafted by NHL teams (Anaheim and Columbus, respectively).

Sharks on NBCS (Video via 𝕏): For the first time since 2020, we saw a goalie fight. Here’s the fight between San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic and Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky. 

Both Sheng Peng at San Jose Hockey Now and George Richards at Florida Hockey Now have the locker room breakdown of the fight. 

If only they let Jeremy Swayman and Darcy Kuemper fight last year.