NHL Trade Grade: Charlie Coyle gives Boston Bruins scoring depth

The Boston Bruins got some long overdue scoring depth from the Minnesota Wild in Charlie Coyle. They had to give up a very talented young player in Ryan Donato, though. So who won the trade?

The first domino of the NHL trade deadline has fallen. On Wednesday, Feb. 20, the Boston Bruins got some much-needed scoring depth by trading for Minnesota Wild forward Charlie Coyle. Of course, nothing in life is free (except for players on waivers). So the Bruins had to give up a fifth-round pick and top forward prospect Ryan Donato. That fifth-rounder is a conditional pick in 2019. Should the Bruins make the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs this year, it turns into a fourth-round pick.

This is as typical of a deadline move as you’re going to see. The Bruins really wanted to improve their chances of winning the Stanley Cup. Meanwhile, the Wild have been open to selling and trading Coyle might lead to some more moves. So let’s take a look at the trade from both sides.

Bruins

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The Bruins did fairly well here. They got scoring depth, as Coyle should help them solve their third line woes. He could even play up on the second line. However, it’s likely the Bruins aren’t done yet because they still have cap space and still have plenty of assets left to offer.

Coyle has 28 points in 60 games this season. He has experience playing at center and at right wing. The Bruins will most likely use him as their third line center. He has a 46.0 percent faceoff win percentage this season, though it was at 52 percent last season.

The best thing about Coyle is he’s more than just a rental. He has a year left on his deal after this one. Coyle’s deal is an affordable one too, as his cap hit is $3.2 million.

All of that said, I don’t like giving up on Donato this soon. It was obvious he wasn’t going to help the Bruins this season. But still, Donato is an immensely talented kid who just needs to work on a few things. He has experience putting pucks in the net on the big stage that is the Olympics.

Grade: B or C. Talk to me on Monday. If this is the only move the Bruins make, it’s the latter. But if they make other moves, it’s the former. The Bruins need more than just Coyle to catch up with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs, not to mention the Montreal Canadiens.

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Wild

Coyle has been in trade rumors for a while now. So getting someone as talented as Donato is a nice get for the Wild. Coyle is a perfectly capable and fine player. However, the Wild needed to shake things up and his numbers were a bit down. Also, Coyle was replaceable for Minnesota.

The crown jewel of this trade for the Wild is Donato. They clearly think highly of him. The Bruins, on the other hand, must have not had such a high opinion of him. Donato’s best tool is his goal scoring. That means he has a darn good chance of being an NHLer because goal scoring tends to be the universal language of hockey. If you can score, you’ll get chances.

Now, will Donato just be another guy like Brandon Pirri? Or will he turn into something more? That’s where people differ. Ultimately, that’s going to determine how the trade is viewed.

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Grade: B+. I know I’m higher on Donato than most. But still, the Wild got someone who could be a consistent NHLer (and might already be one) for someone they were clearly open to trading. And Coyle had no place in their future. Solid trade. This could be the start of more trades for them. The Wild have Eric Staal hitting free agency in a few months. Might they be willing to move on from him?

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