The Boston Bruins didn’t enter this season with plans to sell off any parts of their team. Through the first month of the season, however, there is growing concern that the Bruins will be on the outside looking in on the playoff picture this spring.
The struggles for the Bruins have brought some of their players into the trade rumors of the league. 26-year-old forward Trent Frederic is the latest subject of speculation, with NHL insider Kevin Weekes recently reporting on a growing interest on him around the league. If those reports prove to be true, let’s look at four potential trade destinations for the Bruins winger.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils are a off to a better start this year than last, giving the organization hope that they will make up for their disappointing 2023-2024 campaign. But one more need they could address is another middle-six forward, which should put them in the mix for Frederic over the coming weeks and months.
Frederic could fill into a third-line role with the Devils, while floating up and down the lineup as needed. With him in their bottom-six, the team would go from having questions regarding their third and fourth lines to having it be a strength for the team.
James Nichols of New Jersey Hockey Now recently wrote about how intriguing an option Frederick is for the Devils, adding to the speculation that they may be interested.
Vancouver Canucks
I love the idea of the Bruins and Vancouver Canucks coming together for a trade. The franchises are cross-conference rivals ever since meeting in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2011. But Frederick makes a ton of sense as a trade candidate for the Canucks.
The Canucks have a strong team, but they can use more scoring in their middle-six. Their depth scoring struggled in the biggest stages of the postseason, but adding a player like Frederic would be a salve to their issues. He can contribute nearly 20 goals annually and withstand the rigors of a physical playoff series, which the Canucks need more of.
Dallas Stars
The Stars are a lot of folks’ picks as the Western Conference favorites, and a player like Frederic fits neatly into their system. They roll all four lines in a well-balanced way, and Frederic’s versatility would allow him to fit into any one of their offensive groups.
Another reason this feels like a fit is Dallas has the salary cap flexibility to make this happen. The Stars have a bit under $1.5 million in available cap space, according to PuckPedia, which should give them just enough space to make a deal happen.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild are a sneaky contender this season. They have one of the best scorers in the league in Kirill Kaprizov, a rising superstar in Matthew Boldy, and have only one regulation loss so far this year.
Adding a player like Frederic could be the piece that puts this team over the edge in the Western Conference. Their general manager, Bill Guerin, is eager to push the right button that will propel them to a long postseason run. Acquiring a 15-20 goal scorer who can fight and check and play up and down the lineup would be exactly the right button for Guerin to push.
