Boston Bruins Bidding for Coyotes Draft Pick

The Arizona Coyotes have something many teams in the NHL want: the third overall pick in this year’s draft. So, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that, among other teams, the Boston Bruins have been rumored to be bidding for that coveted pick.

Just like a lot of other teams that failed to make the playoffs, the Bruins are looking to shift the culture of the team. Boston replaced Peter Chiarelli as general manager with Don Sweeney, and he seems ready to shake things up.

Boston has the 14th pick this year, which is the highest the team will draft since 2011 when the Bruins picked 9th and landed Dougie Hamilton (an RFA who can’t seem to get a contract done, and July 1st is literally around the corner).

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Fourteen isn’t bad, especially since this draft pool is so deep. But what’s better than the 14th pick? You guessed it: THE THIRD!

Wouldn’t it be great if the Bruins could add Noah Hanifin or Mitch Marner to their roster? Of course it would, but what will the Bruins have to give up in order to get that pick.

When I first wrote about Arizona and its willingness to trade the pick, I mentioned that GM Don Maloney stated that it would take something really special for the team to trade it.

I think the Bruins could put together a pretty special gift package for the Arizona Coyotes.

Firstly, the team recently signed (two days ago) goaltender Zane McIntyre.

(I haven’t gone off my rocker; below I’ll explain while this is important)

The 22-year-old goaltender is a high-intrigue prospect. He topped the NCAA with 29 wins this season and helped lead North Dakota to the 2015 Frozen Four. He was honored as one of three finalists for the Hobey Baker Award, given annually to the top player in college hockey, and was selected as the winner of the Mike Richter Award, given annually to the NCAA’s top goaltender. —Allan Muir, Sports Illustrated

The truth is Boston is set between the pipes. No. 1 goaltender Tuukka Rask is only entering the third year of his eight-year deal. So, he’ll be the team’s No. 1 for some time. With the signing of McIntyre the Bruins will now be able to groom another goaltender on its AHL team.

This signing may mean that the Bruins are willing to move netminder Malcolm Subban, the brother of P.K. Subban, who was acquired by them in 2012. With his experience, (Subban has gained valuable experience and improved on the Providence Bruins) he can be a major bargaining chip.

Subban’s potential, along with the 14th pick (I can’t expect the Bruins to win the bid and still get to keep this), and maybe a cornerstone piece like Milan Lucic and the Bruins could be in business to alleviate its recent drafting woes.

Of the 20 players in uniform for the Bruins’ 2014-15 season opener last Oct. 8, just six were drafted by the team. And only two — Ryan Spooner and Craig Cunningham — were taken after 2006.This is a problem. Poor drafting not only explains why the B’s could not weather the storm of injuries well enough to get into the playoffs last season, but also why they find themselves in the financial crisis they’re in today. They just don’t have enough good, young, cheap players in their system. — Steve Conroy, The Boston Herald

Well that’s problematic.

Grabbing this pick would help the Bruins in so many ways. They aren’t the Chicago Blackhawks in terms of money troubles, but the Bruins need to field a better team while tightening the purse strings. They can’t have all their money in only a few players.

Trading for the pick would probably open up some cap space for the team, as it will likely have to get rid of one (or more) quality roster players. You know, the guys that have a lot of the team’s money locked up.

While Lucic is relatively young (27 years old), a fan favorite, and a heck of a hockey player, his cap is an issue. His name has come up in numerous trade scenarios; it’s not personal, it’s just business. If the Bruins decide to keep Lucic then they could add Loui Eriksson to sweeten the deal for the Yotes.

Again, it’s all about the money. Eriksson has a $4.25 million cap hit and Lucic has a $6 million cap hit. Both have one year remaining on their contracts. Better to sell them off and get something in return, right?

It’s not as simple as that, but the Bruins, with the pieces they have, could make a pretty enticing offer to lure the Coyotes into a trade.

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