The Bruins made a sensible long term move to stabilize their third line center spot by dealing for Charlie Coyle last week, and they may do the same again before 3 p.m. today.
Darren Dreger reported via twitter first thing on Monday morning that Mark Stone, Wayne Simmonds and Tyler Toffoli are the big ticket top-6 targets for the Bruins today, and a hockey source confirmed the B’s interest in Toffoli to NBCSportsBoston.com. The B’s have long been in the running for both Simmonds and Stone with the prices expected to be a premium for either one of them, and the 26-year-old Toffoli has always been on the periphery as a non-rental target for the Black and Gold.
It’s much more likely that the Bruins would spend a first round pick for a non-rental player like Toffoli with term still left on his deal than ship out a first round draft choice for a rental as they did in futility with Rick Nash at the deadline last season.
The interest in Toffoli makes sense given that he’s signed through next season for a reasonable $4.6 million cap hit, so the Bruins would get much more bang for their buck if they do end up spending big in trade assets. There is much less certainty with Stone and Simmonds, who are rental players and would command much bigger bucks starting next season if the Bruins did intend on re-signing either of those players.
The downside with a proven young player like Toffoli?
He’s having a down season like so many players on the LA Kings roster with 12 goals and 27 points in 61 games with a minus-11 rating, and that doesn’t really represent that much of an upgrade in pure numbers over what Danton Heinen has done this season with the Black and Gold.
But he’s a 6-foot, 200-pound natural right shot that would slot right into the right side of Boston’s forward group, and has averaged 24 goals and 48 points over the previous four seasons while also winning a Cup while with the Kings. With the options beginning to run out with other eligible wingers like Gustav Nyquist and Ryan Dzingel already having been moved well ahead of this afternoon’s deadline, Toffoli remains an interesting option for the Black and Gold where they’ll get more cost certainty and term for their big price tag.
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