Trade Bait for the Bruins

 By Isaac Edwards
In today's NHL, It's not easy to have a team that's capable of winning the Stanley Cup, and staying within the salary cap. That's something that's been haunting the Boston Bruins for too long now. They've had the right pieces of the puzzle in previous years, but have had to let a few players walk due to the salary cap, and have paid the price for it, especially this past season. Here are a few players I think they could possibly deal during the off-season and the 2015-16 season as a whole.

Chris Kelly
At 34 years of age, Chris Kelly is a veteran forward in the NHL, and could be a valuable player for a young team who needs a veteran's experience like Toronto or Edmonton. I've been saying that the Bruins should try and deal Kelly along with Malcolm Subban, a few prospects, and maybe a draft pick or two for a guy like Jordan Eberle. The trade would work for both teams, as Edmonton needs a guy like Kelly to help lead the team to success. Subban has great potential, and could become a #1 starter in the NHL someday, and the Oilers could for sure use him. Even though Edmonton has a ton of young prospects without this years upcoming draft, a few other players couldn't hurt. As for Boston, they desperately need a goal scorer, and that's where Eberle comes in. One thing that could certainly hurt Boston in this deal is that they'd need the Oilers to retain some of Eberle's salary, just because Kelly's contract is only worth 3M, and Eberle's is 6M. If this trade was to ever happen, I'd really like to see it happen before the upcoming draft.

Dennis Seidenberg
Much like Chris Kelly, Dennis Seidenberg is a veteran player who would fit with a team who needs a player who rookies can look up to. He's 33 years old, with a cap hit of 4M for the next 3 seasons. I'm not exactly sure who they would trade Seidenberg for, or who they would get in return for him, but if they need to dump some cap space to make room for a player to sign, Dennis is a nice option to have. A possible destination for Seidenberg could possibly be Ottawa. Though they already have star players like Erik Karlsson and Mark Methot, they also have several younger defensemen like Cody Ceci who could use the extra help from the experienced D-man. I'm not quite sure what the Bruins would get in return, but I'd like to maybe see a guy like Colin Greening come over along with maybe a prospect and a draft pick or two.

Zdeno Chara
Every single Bruins fan has their own opinion on this topic, and I don't want to see Big Z get traded. He's one of the best defensemen in the league, and is an absolute monster at 6"9. But if the right deal ever came up, I think Bruins' GM Don Sweeney should consider it. I have no idea what they would get in return, or who they would send him to, but they would probably get something good in return. If he ever is traded, it will probably be around the trade deadline, and only if the Bruins are on the track of missing the playoffs again. He has a monster of a contract at just about 7M for the next two seasons, and then 4M after that.

Dougie Hamilton
I think that if the Bruins trade Dougie Hamilton it will for sure be before the draft this coming Friday/Saturday. I've heard rumors that they could possibly trade his rights to Arizona for their 3rd overall pick. I would like if that happened, because Boston could draft a goal scorer like Dylan Strome. Hamilton is asking for a monster contract extension this off-season and wants around a 6-7M deal which Boston obviously can't afford.

Reilly Smith
Like Chara and Hamilton, I don't really want the Bruins to trade Reilly Smith, just because he has great potential. He's inked for around 3.5M for the next two seasons, and probably deserves a bigger contract, but signed for cheap with Boston knowing their cap space issues. I think that if he is traded, it will be part of a big deal that could possibly involve a name like Zdeno Chara or Milan Lucic which I would not like to see. A more likable deal would be trading Smith and Marc Savard's contract somewhere's else. Savard's on the Long Term IR, and has a cap hit of just a bit over 4M for the next two seasons. Like Chara though, I'd doubt you'll see Smith get traded.