The Boston Bruins are at the top of the NHL, but there remains speculation on how they could be even better. Lyle Richardson has more in today’s rumor roundup.

Jake DeBrusk

Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney has a well-earned reputation for making significant moves before the NHL trade deadline. He acquired Tyler Bertuzzi, Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway last year, Hampus Lindholm in 2022 and Taylor Hall in 2021.

Boston Hockey Now’s Jimmy Murphy last week observed it’s no secret the Bruins need a bona fide top-six center or rugged winger plus another defenseman. Calgary Flames center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Noah Hanifin have been mentioned as potential trade targets for Sweeney.

However, the Bruins lack first and second-round picks in the 2024 and 2025 NHL drafts. They also don’t have don’t have a third-rounder in this year’s draft plus they must restock a depleted prospect pool.

Murphy believes acquiring Lindholm or Hanifin before the trade deadline would cost more than the Bruins can afford. With the club exceeding expectations this season, Murphy felt Sweeney would be better off waiting until this summer to pursue those two Flames via free agency when he’ll have more salary-cap space to work with.

The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa agrees that pursuing someone like Lindholm in the trade market would be too expensive for the Bruins. With Jake DeBrusk struggling to find the back of the net, he believes they need to land a scoring winger.

Shinzawa believes addressing that need won’t be expensive. Wingers such as San Jose’s Anthony Duclair, Chicago’s Tyler Johnson and Anaheim’s Adam Henrique could become available by the March 8 trade deadline. All three have considerable playoff experience.

Speaking of DeBrusk, Murphy’s colleague Mick Colageo wondered if the Bruins would attempt to move the winger by the trade deadline or allow him to depart as a free agent in July. Citing DeBrusk’s inconsistent performance throughout his NHL career, Colageo believes he faces an uncertain future in Boston.’

Unless the Bruins can swap DeBrusk for a player, trading him for futures won’t help their roster over the remainder of the schedule. Their best bet could be retaining him for the rest of this season and see how things unfold from there.