Brace yourselves, Bruins fans, it's about to get hot up in here.
According to the latest story emanating from the NHL trade rumor mill, TSN Insider Darren Dreger, while appearing on Vancouver's TSN 1040, as transcribed by NicholsOnHockey.com, said that the Boston Bruins and Peter Chiarelli are expected to do just about everything in their power to "pry" Taylor Hall away from the Edmonton Oilers.
"I think that Boston is a team that is going to exhaust the rumors swirling around Taylor Hall in Edmonton," said Dreger. "They're going to find out, even through the summer, whether or not this kid can be pried out of Edmonton. And if he can be, then I wouldn't be surprised in Boston is among those teams that takes a pretty good swing."
While it's almost entirely conjecture, Hall seems like he would be a fantastic fit in the Black and Gold. He's tough, gritty and plays the game with reckless abandon - so much so that there have been concerns in Edmonton that he would need to change his playing style, lest he shorten his own career with self-inflicted injuries.
He's a scorer who drives the net and, better yet, he's still only 23 years old. The Bruins, facing a tight cap situation - they've got $1.775 million in space - could move a number of younger players - perhaps some NHL-ready defenseman like Dougie Hamilton and/or Torey Krug - and a now-heavy contract or two - Milan Lucic, perhaps? - which would accomplish the double duty of bringing onboard a talented, young player and clearing space for the future.
Whether it's Hall, Antoine Vermette, T.J. Oshie, or an as-of-yet unnamed player, Dreger expects Chiarelli will be making some type of move ahead of the March trade deadline.
"Yeah, he'll be active. He's been pretty aggressive to this point leading up to the roster freeze looking for a top-six, worst-case top-nine forward. He still hasn't replace Horton or Jarome Iginla and that's a spot they feel they've got to find somebody who can replace that offense and those minutes. Now that Krejci is back, and they hope for good health in the New Year from him, otherwise they're in trouble. And Chara is back, and eventually he'll get up to speed. Then Chiarelli can focus on adding that body."
Stayed tuned, Bruins faithful. It should be a fun run up to March.
