Ahead of the NHL trade deadline earlier this month, rumors swirled regarding the availability of Boston Bruins forward Loui Eriksson. Eriksson, 30, was well on his way to one of the best seasons of his 10-year NHL career and looking again like the guy he was prior to a devastating head injury to start his Bruins tenure. But despite his uptick in play, talk continued to persist that the Bruins and new GM Don Sweeney weren't certain of their plan with Eriksson, a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, meaning his immediate and longterm NHL future remained in question.
Eriksson, a guy Sweeney made clear he wanted to keep, but only at the right price, ultimately survived the deadline and continues to play very well for a Bruins team hoping to lock down a playoff spot in the closely-packed Eastern Conference sometime in the near future.
And while Eriksson remains a bright spot for Boston, his agent, JP Barry, said recently the he hasn't spoken with the Bruins regarding Eriksson's contract or his status with the franchise going forward since before the deadline.
That, in and of itself, is not altogether surprising. With the Bruins in the fight for their playoff lives, it makes little sense for Sweeney to try and hammer out a deal for a guy like Eriksson, who the team clearly wants to keep, but who they clearly differ with in terms of valuation.
Reports from late February suggested that Eriksson was looking for a six-year deal that would pay him somewhere in the vicinity of $6 million per season, while the Bruins were thinking more along the lines of three or four seasons.
At 30 and coming off that serious head injury, Eriksson would seem to have little in the way of leverage on Boston. But here's the thing - there are bound to be at least a couple of teams willing to pay Eriksson something closer to what he was seeking initially.
There may not be a lot of said teams, but all it takes is one franchise to decide that Eriksson's a must-have and decide to pony up the dough.
As it stands today, with Eriksson having collected 27 goals and 58 points, it's likeliest that Sweeney will try again to lock his veteran forward up once the offseason rolls around, but should those efforts fail, get back to working the phones looking for a trade that will land Boston further draft ammo.
