The Boston Bruins aren’t close to Pavel Zacha’s price yet, and that gap is shaping up to be the big issue as he heads toward pending unrestricted free agency.
On the latest NHL Rumour Report, Chris Johnston said on the Hockey PDOcast that Boston has a number in mind for Zacha, but it’s not lining up with what the player is looking for in this climate.
“I know there’s a number they would sign him at, but the numbers don’t align in their mind with, with what the player wants in a…rising salary environment.”
Elsewhere, a report from last week about Brenden Dillon supposedly using no-trade protection to block a deal got corrected. Daniel Amoia of NJ Hockey Now reported that Elliotte Friedman said on The Fan Hockey Show that Dillon had vetoed a trade last season, but Friedman later said on Friday’s show that Dillon told him that wasn’t true.
“ Devils that used their protection, as is their contractually obligated right, and I heard the one was Dillon. I mentioned it, and he said it wasn’t true.”
The Devils still had one confirmed case of a player blocking a move: Dougie Hamilton, who vetoed a trade to the San Jose Sharks. Dillon, meanwhile, has been a healthy scratch several times this season.
In Toronto, the Maple Leafs are hearing the same defensive-help chatter everyone else is, but GM John Chayka played down the idea that the answer has to come through the trade market.
“It’s been discussed much, but I think there’s no doubt we need to improve our defensive play overall to reach our ultimate goals. But I don’t think that transaction is necessarily always the way to improve.”
With Chris Tanev out, Toronto may not have a clear top-six defense option waiting in the wings right now. For the moment, the plan is to look internally and see who can take advantage of the opening.
The Leafs have just under $2.4 million in cap space, with Max Domi, Dakota Joshua, who could be recalled from his conditioning stint real soon, and Elvis Merzlikins on the LTIR. Chayka said he still believes the club has room to maneuver and added that he would be comfortable making another blockbuster trade.
When the conversation turns to the kind of pieces that might be moved in a big deal, Easton Cowan and defensive prospect Ben Danford are the names that come up.
In Other News...
Bruins Top-Six Problems Are Putting Pastrnak At A Real Crossroads
Bostons latest look at its top six only sharpened the concern around David Pastrnaks current fit. Against Carolina, the line with JJ Peterka and Pavel Zacha never found any rhythm, and the underlying numbers were as bleak as the eye test suggested. The group spent too much time defending, too little time threatening, and for a team already searching for answers up front, that is the sort of combination that can force a coach to start shuffling pieces again.
One path back to stability is sitting right there in the recent history of the lineup, where Pastrnak had more traction alongside Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten. The Bruins also have Morgan Geekie in the mix as another forward whose own struggles add to the pressure on the top-six configuration. With the offense still trying to find a cleaner structure, the question is whether Boston decides to keep pushing this version of Pastrnaks line or goes back to a combination that already showed it can work. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Let A Winnable Road Game Slip Away After Early Lead
The Bruins had enough early to feel like they could take something out of Raleigh, with Pavel Zacha giving them the only goal they would need to lean on if the rest of the night broke their way. Jeremy Swayman did his part with 28 saves, and for long stretches Boston had the look of a team capable of grinding out a road result before the game tightened and the margin for error disappeared.
Instead, a one-goal cushion turned into a one-goal loss, 2-1, and Bostons point streak came to an end in a game that had been there for the taking. The Bruins now get a day off to reset before turning to the St. Louis Blues, with the lingering concern being how quickly a solid start can unravel when a road game stays this close for too long. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Enter A New Ownership Chapter With A Different Voice Up Top
The Bruins are opening a new chapter at the top of the organization, with the club announcing a change in its leadership structure on the ownership side. For a franchise that has spent decades under the Jacobs family, it is a notable shift, even if the hockey operations portion of the operation remains unchanged on the surface. Charlie Jacobs has been a familiar presence around the team for years, which makes this less of a sudden surprise than a long-anticipated transition.
What matters now is how that new voice shapes the next phase for a team that has already spent this season trying to define itself on and off the ice. Boston has dealt with its share of roster questions, but this kind of move lands differently because it affects the people steering the ship rather than the players skating on the ice. For Bruins fans, the bigger question is not the title change itself, but how the clubs direction evolves once the handoff is complete. [Read more 🡒]