Bruins Rumors Roundup

As of yesterday afternoon, it was rumored the Bruins and Anaheim Ducks had a deal in place that would send D Chris Pronger and winger Travis Moen to the Hub for Mark Stuart, Joe Colborne, a 1st round pick and possibly a roster player.

This is a deal that makes sense for both teams, but it seems as of last night, the Ducks are looking for more and the Bruins are out of the running.  Could this be a bluff by Murray? Who knows.  The rumored deal is a fair deal.  First off, when trading top notch players like Pronger, a team NEVER gets full value.  Let's look at past big trades with franchise type guys or the top deadline player.

San Jose acquired Brian Campbell and a 7th round pick from the Sabres for Steve Bernier and a 1st round pick.  Bernier was a young prospect, career high 30 point season before being traded.  

Penguins acquired Marian Hossa from the Thrashers for Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito and a 1st round pick.  Christensen was a 3rd/4th liner, Armstrong was a Kobasew-like player and Esposito was a young unproven prospect with high upside.

Stars acquired Brad Richards from the Lightning for Mike Smith, Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and a 4th round pick.

Sharks acquired Joe Thornton from the Bruins for Brad Stuart, Wayne Primeau and a Marco Sturm.

Canucks acquired Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek from the Panthers for Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld.

Coyotes acquired Olli Jokinen from the Panthers for Nick Boynton, Keith Ballard and a 2nd round pick.

As you can see, only Thornton, Luongo, Jokinen and Richards were not UFA's, but Hossa and Campbell were young when they were traded.  Luongo, Thornton, Jokinen and Richards were also under 30 when they were dealt.  Pronger is 34.  

There are also rumors of Phil Kessel, 21, going to Anaheim in a deal for Pronger.  This talk has no validity to it.  No player of Kessel's caliber has been traded in any of the deals above for a superstar player, let alone a 34 year old.  Also, when Pronger was traded after the lockout and the following season, he did not net a player of Kessel's caliber.

Edmonton acquired Pronger from St. Louis for Eric Brewer, Jeff Woywitka, and Doug Lynch.

Anaheim acquired Pronger from Edmonton for Joffrey Lupol, Ladislav Smid, 1st round pick, 2nd round pick, and a conditional 1st.

These deals were 3 and 4 years ago, so now you are looking at an older Pronger with a bigger cap hit and only 1 year left on his deal rather than the 4 or 5 when he was traded.  

Colborne is a high end prospect who is raw, but could end up being a very special player in this league.  Stuart is a top 4 physical defenseman who is very responsible defensively and young.  The roster player could be anyone from Sobotka, Nokelainen to Kobasew.

 

But any talk of Wheeler, Krejci, Kessel, Bergeron or Lucic is absurd.  That is WAY to high of an asking price for a 34 year old with one year left on his deal and has yet to net a player CLOSE to that caliber in previous trades.

Now if the Pronger rumors do not come true, look for the Bruins to shift their attention to Tomas Kaberle of the Maple Leafs.  Rumors ran crazy last night as Brian Burke was in Boston watching the Caps-Bruins game.  The Bruins have reportedly offered Joe Colborne, a 1st round pick and a 3rd round pick for Kaberle.  

Another interesting name out there is Niclas Haviled, who can supposedly be had for a pick.  

Derek Morris is on the verge of being traded according to numerous outlets, and could be had for a pick.  The Bruins have shown interest, but Morris may want to stay West.

Jordan Leopold is a name to keep a tab on, the Bruins have shown interest in the Avs defender.

On an offensive note, the big names out there for the Bruins are Keith Tkachuk, Erik Cole, and Bill Guerin.

According to many sources, Guerin has been traded to a team in the Eastern Conference, but a cap situation is holding up the deal.  Washington, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Boston, Montreal and Pittsburgh are the rumored destinations, but it seems like Washington, Boston, Philly and Jersey have denied interest.

With St. Louis's recent playoff surge, rumors are Tkachuk will NOT be dealt.  This could be a bluff to try and heat up the market for Tkachuk as there isn't a huge interest in him.  Tkachuk has said he would like to play in Boston, but Boston has not shown a ton of interest, with Erik Cole seeming to be their top target.

Cole has had an off season in Edmonton, and could be had for a pick and prospect.  

Rumors a plenty....