According to the latest NHL trade rumors, the Boston Bruins are among the teams checking in on Los Angeles Kings forward Tyler Toffoli as they seek secondary scoring.
It’s only November, but the NHL trade rumors mill is starting to heat up. Teams are starting to figure out who they are. The Los Angeles Kings know they won’t be contending, barring something unforeseen. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins know who they are – Stanley Cup contenders. Could the two teams work out a trade involving Kings forward Tyler Toffoli?
According to Dennis Bernstein from The Fourth Period, there’s already a connection between the Kings and Bruins. David Pagnotta from The Fourth Period added that the two sides nearly worked out a deal involving Toffoli at the 2019 NHL trade deadline.
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Toffoli has one year left on his deal and he has been struggling recently. Since scoring 24 goals during the 2017-18 season, he has scored 16 goals in his last 95 games, including three this season in 13 games. Toffoli also has seven points this season. That puts him on pace for about 19 goals and 44 points over an 82 game season.
Earlier this season, Toffoli was a healthy scratch for the Kings during a home game against the Vancouver Canucks. The Kings lost that game 5-3. Given the trade rumors that have surrounded him, this raised quite a few eyebrows.
In a recent interview with Sportsnet‘s Luke Fox, Toffoli admitted he can read the writing on the wall.
“I mean, it’s just the way it is… It comes with not playing well and not winning games, so whatever happens, happens.”
Toffoli rebounded nicely after being scratched. Before being scratched, he went four straight games without a point and had a plus-minus rating of -4 in a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Toffoli responded with a multi-point outing against the Blackhawks on Nov. 2.
Before last season, Toffoli had never finished a season with a negative plus-minus rating. The streak ended last season, as he had a -16 rating. Toffoli is an experienced player in both the regular season and postseason. In 470 regular-season games, he has 120 goals and 263 points. Additionally, Toffoli has 21 points in 46 career games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. During the Kings Stanley Cup run in 2013-14, he put up seven goals and 14 points in 26 games
He would certainly make sense for the Bruins. After all, they need secondary scoring. Though they have an impressive 11-1-2 record so far, they’ve been relying a bit too heavily on their top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.
Toffoli would give the Bruins a boost in secondary scoring. He’s had a rough time the past two seasons, but he’s not too far removed from being a reliable goal scorer. Toffoli set a career-high in goals during the 2015-16 season, scoring 31 goals. He has three seasons with at least 20 goals despite playing on a Kings team that has often struggled to score.
The Bruins have struggled to score at five-on-five over the past two seasons, relying quite a bit on their lethal power play. Since entering the NHL in 2012-13, Toffoli ranks 82nd in five-on-five goals per hour among the 241 forwards with at least 4,000 minutes at five-on-five with 0.77. Bergeron, Pastrnak, and Marchand are each above Toffoli. But the next closest current Bruins skater is David Krejci with 0.63 goals per hour.
Toffoli would be a nice addition for a Bruins team that needs more production from their second and third forward lines. He’s got a proven track record of scoring goals and a change in scenery might help him get back to being one of the most underrated scorers in the NHL.