Training camp is already stirring up plenty of questions for the Boston Bruins, and Pavel Zacha sits right near the center of the conversation.
Boston still has roster decisions to sort through with only two preseason games left, especially when it comes to which young players might crack the Opening Night group. Off the ice, the bigger noise keeps circling around general manager Don Sweeney and the contract situation. The Bruins did get some business done before camp, locking up Fraser Minten and signing Matthew Poitras on the first day of camp last Wednesday, but Zacha remains the name that feels destined to follow them through the fall.
He’s entering the final year of his deal, which means the trade chatter isn’t going anywhere. Until Boston either extends him or moves him, the rumors will keep building.
Lyle Richardson of Bleacher Report recently listed six possible landing spots for Zacha, and two of them - the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres - stand out as the strangest fits from a Bruins perspective.
Sweeney has shown before that he’s willing to deal within the division. He sent Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a move that brought Minten back as the key piece.
But even with that track record, moving Zacha to a direct Atlantic Division rival would be a far tougher sell. Carlo’s time in Toronto has already taken another turn, with the defenseman since being shipped to the St.
Louis Blues to reunite with former Boston coach Jim Montgomery.
That’s part of why the idea of Zacha landing in Montreal or Buffalo feels so awkward for Boston. Both clubs finished in the top three in the Atlantic last season, and both look built to stay in the mix for years. For the Bruins, sending one of their top centers to either team - and potentially watching him sign long-term there - would be a brutal outcome.
Richardson’s other four destinations were the Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, and Vegas Golden Knights. Those make a lot more sense than seeing Zacha stay in the division.
For now, he’s set to start the season in Boston, and what happens next may depend heavily on how the Bruins open the year. If the start is sluggish again, the trade talk is only going to get louder.
By the March deadline, there should be some kind of answer. The one outcome that seems least likely is Zacha playing out the entire season in Boston, reaching free agency, and walking away for nothing.
Or is there?
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