The Boston Bruins, riding a four-game winning streak after snapping a three-game skid, have yet to make the deal many in the NHL have generally assumed is coming.
They're a hot and cold team, not entirely surprising considering the significant contributions they're seeing from NHL rookies and youngsters, like David Pastrnak and Dougie Hamilton, this year.
While those contributions portend a bright future in Boston, they make for a questionable present for a team many thought was poised for another Stanley Cup run.
There's plenty of time left in the season and thanks to the return to health of some key veterans the Bruins are still well within reach of a playoff spot - if the season's second act started today they'd be the final Wild Card team in the East. But coach Claude Julien and GM Peter Chiarelli, along with fans of the Black and Gold, were, no doubt, expecting better than simply being in the postseason conversation.
While many may point to the limited offensive production - the Bruins are 21st in the league in goals per game - and conclude that they need to trade for a forward, it could possibly be that a pace and possession-pushing defenseman is really what the doctor ordered.
When the Bruins are on their game and forechecking like mad men, things seem to fall their way more often than not - something that can be said for most NHL squads. But when opponents flip the script and get in Boston's face the Bruins lack blueliners able to retrieve pucks in their own end and complete a competent, zone-exiting pass.
There are a number of players on the roster who can do it - Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and as Fluto Shinzawa of The Boston Globe notes, Joe Morrow can as well, though he's not yet ready for full-time NHL duty - but the team, if they're serious about making a playoff run, needs more.
Enter the Arizona Coyotes and Keith Yandle.
Yandle's name has been connected to the Bruins before. He's a stud blueliner with offensive acumen who would fit the club perfectly.
The price though, would be steep.
"With Arizona rebuilding, GM Don Maloney is listening on everyone, including Keith Yandle. The Bruins would have to send Krug the other way, along with maybe another young roster player, a pick, and a prospect," writes Shinzawa.
It would be a tough pill to swallow to watch a talented, young player like Krug walk out the door and most will decry a move that is, ostensibly, damaging the future for the here and now. Krug though, while extremely talented, probably won't ever be the player that Yandle already is.
For a gimpy but still quality Bruins team, Krug has eight goals and 13 assists for 21 points in 40 games. Yandle, for an abysmal Coyotes squad only eight points from the Western Conference basement, has four goals and 22 assists - 26 points - in 42 games.
At 28, Yandle's closer to the end of his career than Krug, but he's certainly got plenty of NHL left in his body. He's also got another year left on his deal.
Granted, making the cap room necessary to bring him on board won't be easy.
But, as hard as it is for Bruins fans to admit, Krug is much easier for Boston to replace considering they already have Hamilton, Morrow, Matt Bartkowski and David Warsofsky knocking on, or with a foot already in, the NHL door. And while moving Krug for Yandle seems like it's hampering the future for immediate results, it's not as if Yandle will be out of the league in a season or two - Zdeno Chara was nearly 30 when the Bruins initally brought him on board.
Yes, it'd be preferable to watch one of those young defensive names other than Krug leave, but if it means bringing a highly talented, possession-pushing, veteran blueline presence to the team, giving up Krug and a pick and/or prospect may be worth it - now, and in the long run.
