Don Sweeney set to trade away another fan favourite in blockbuster trade

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Austin Sabourin
June 29, 2024 (1:27 PM)

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According to Lyle Richardson of The Hockey News, the Boston Bruins are looking to kick the off-season into gear, with a few big moves.

We've seen interest in Linus Ullmark pique, prior to the end of the season, however, it seems the team may move a top prospect all the while.

Richardson suggests the Bruins are in the running to acquire the New York Rangers' 1st-line center in a massive trade.

The return for Zibanejad could be one of the Bruin's top prospects, like Matthew Poitras in example.

Ullmark and Poitras could be packaged in a deal, or with a pick in order to sweeten the deal for the Rangers and Chris Drury.

Lyle wrote «The Bruins could use Ullmark as a trade chip to add a physical forward or defenseman that could be included in a package deal for Zibanejad. They could include their 2025 or 2026 first-round pick in the package and one or two prospects or a promising youngster like John Beecher or Matthew Poitras.»

That is, GM Don Sweeney could ultimately use Zibanejad as a means of fixing the flawed center depth sorely lacking in Boston lately.

It all depends on how GM Chris Drury approaches the Rangers off-season, as they were devastated in 6 games by the Florida Panthers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Zibanejad, 31, scored 26 goals and 46 assists for 72 points in the regular season, along with 3 goals and 13 assists for 16 points in the Rangers' 19 game playoff run. Zibanejad has six years remaining on his $8.5M AAV contract along with a full NMC

Would Zibanejad have Boston on his NMC? We'll see as the story develops.