Brad Marchand is staking his claim as a premier scorer, and it's affecting how the Boston Bruins proceed with Loui Eriksson as the NHL's trade deadline rapidly approaches.
First, some numbers.
With a goal in Wednesday's 5-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marchand continued to up his career high, with only three players recording more than his 31 this season.
| Player | Games Played | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| Alex Ovechkin (WSH) | 56 | 39 |
| Patrick Kane (CHI) | 62 | 35 |
| Jamie Benn (DAL) | 61 | 32 |
| Tyler Seguin (DAL) | 61 | 31 |
| Brad Marchand (BOS) | 55 | 31 |
Marchand, 27, is in the penultimate season of a four-year, $18-million deal signed back in 2013, and will therefore be looking for a tidy raise based on how his overall game has improved since that time. He'll be eligible to sign an extension with the Bruins as early as July 1, a date that coincides with Eriksson's impending foray into unrestricted free agency.
The conundrum for general manager Don Sweeney, then, is trying to retain Eriksson's services while also not handcuffing his team in terms of salary obligations over the next several years.
Reports, however, suggest negotiations aren't going well between the Bruins and Eriksson.
Ongoing contract discussions between Loui Eriksson and the Bruins. It's believed a significant gap remains in both term and $. #TradeCentre
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 24, 2016
With 23 goals and 25 assists, Eriksson has recorded one more point than Marchand, and will certainly be looking to parlay a strong season into a long-term, high-money deal that will carry him into his mid- to late-thirties.
But the reality is the Bruins, who have major deficiencies on the blue line, won't be able to both meet Eriksson's demands and sign Marchand to the kind of extension he'll warrant.
So in the immediate future, the question becomes whether to trade Eriksson, keep him for a potential Stanley Cup run and risk losing him for nothing on the open market this summer, or, ideally, sign him to a more team-friendly extension that leaves room for Marchand's big deal and allows the team to address other areas of the lineup.
Eriksson, of course, is under no obligation to take a hometown discount, and although the Bruins are no doubt celebrating Marchand's break out, his looming free agency is indeed greatly affecting what the Bruins choose to do with his fellow winger.
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Condon's highway robbery... pic.twitter.com/cXXFNP4jvG
— Chris Oddo (@TheFanChild) February 25, 2016
MIke Condon has brought his best for the league's best.
The Montreal Canadiens netminder wisely kept with his momentum despite being caught turning in the wrong direction in order to deny Mike Richards of his second goal as a member of the Washington Capitals with an unorthodox, but absolutely brilliant blocker save.
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Nineteen-year-old David Pastrnak made history Wednesday by becoming the youngest player in Boston Bruins history to score on a penalty shot.
The goal also marked the first-ever penalty-shot attempt by a Bruin against the Pittsburgh Penguins, according to PittsburghHockey.net, and contributed to another Bruins record:
With Pastrnak's goal, this marks the first time in #NHLBruins history the team has tallied 3 penalty shot goals in one season.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) February 25, 2016
The goal was Pastrnak's seventh of the season, and came by tapping the brakes and rifling a wrist shot past Marc-Andre Fleury.
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The Vancouver Canucks have completed a trade with another Western Canadian rival, sending a conditional 2017 fifth-round pick to the Edmonton Oilers for the rights of defenseman Philip Larsen.
Larsen, a former fifth-round selection with 125 games of NHL tread, has spent the last two seasons in the KHL after a 30-game stint (in which he netted 12 points) with Edmonton in 2013-14.
TSN's Bob McKenzie is reporting that the fifth-round pick could be elevated to a fourth-round selection should Larsen hit production thresholds.
The Oilers, who acquired Larsen in the Shawn Horcoff trade, extended the slight defenseman a qualifying offer before he bolted to Russia, thus retaining his rights.
The fifth-round pick used to land Larsen is the second 2017 draft selection that the rebuilding Canucks have parted with.
McKenzie also notes that Vancouver intends to sign Larsen before July 1, and have him join the team for next season.
Vancouver acquired Markus Granlund from the Calgary Flames on Monday in exchange for top prospect Hunter Shinkaruk.
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The Western Hockey League's leading scorer is an undrafted free agent who appears to have plenty of suitors, including the Calgary Flames.
Dryden Hunt, 20, who has recorded 49 goals and 50 assists in 61 games for the Moose Jaw Warriors, is drawing serious interest from at least five NHL teams, according to Darren Dreger of TSN.
The Flames are believed to be one of the clubs in hot pursuit of the Cranbrook, British Columbia native, with a decision coming possibly as early as next week.
Hunt has appeared in 258 WHL games over the past four years, totaling 108 goals and 124 assists for a 0.90 point-per-game average.
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(Extra) point, Laine.
Still in hot pursuit of the No. 2 overall draft selection this summer along with his countryman, Jesse Puljujarvi, Patrik Laine gave scouts a taste of what he can accomplish in space (and in overtimes over the next few decades), dazzling in a 3-on-3 scenario over the weekend.
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