The Boston Bruins and general manager Peter Chiarelli seem hell bent on dominating the NHL rumor mill these days.
That or they're just really interested in improving their flailing squad and are banging down every door and chewing up every phone line in order to do it.
Either way, the Bruins GM, looking to add grit and scoring touch to his lineup, has reportedly been talking to the St. Louis Blues about a couple of their available forwards and the Vancouver Canucks about one of theirs.
Chiarelli has, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet Canada, shown varying degrees of interest in both the Blues' T.J. Oshie and Patrik Berglund and Zack Kassian of the Vancouver Canucks.
The Blues and Bruins, according to Friedman, are interested in making a move or two because each team has a bevy of young players who will expect raises - Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Reilly Smith in Boston and Jake Allen, Jori Lehtera, Jaden Schwartz and Vladimir Tarasenko in Vancouver - in the near future and a limited amount of cap space which will make said extensions nearly impossible.
"Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli is contacting teams with space, seeing what it will cost for them to take players off his roster, so he can free up room to do what he wants...That's why you're hearing a lot of Patrik Berglund and T.J. Oshie. Both have two more years, the former with a no-trade that kicks in next July 1. Logically, it makes sense for Armstrong to create flexibility."
Another option for Chiarelli and Boston is the Canucks Kassian. He's on his second NHL team and injured at the moment, but the 23-year-old has upside and could still find a way to live up to his first-round pedigree.
"Here's another Boston possibility, albeit on a smaller scale: Vancouver's Zack Kassian. Kassian currently is injured, but I can see the Bruins taking a shot when he returns.," Freidman said. "Jim Benning knows Boston's prospects, it probably doesn't cost Chiarelli a ton and Kassian has the edge Boston is looking for, although he hasn't shown enough of it yet."
Kassian is in the first year of a two-year deal.
