Bruins Trade Target: Ryan Nugent Hopkins

The Edmonton Oilers just lost one of their best defenders, Andrej Sekera, to a torn Achilles. Sekera will begin the year on a long term injured reserve, so now the Oilers will look to fill a large void in their lineup. Oh, and the Bruins have a surplus of defenseman.

The Oilers have had varying degrees of interest in Torey Krug over the years and now the Bruins have the luxury of a healthy young defense and might deem Krug expendable.

Krug would likely fetch a decent haul and the Bruins would likely ask for Ryan Nugent Hopkins from the Oilers. Hopkins was the number one draft pick back in 2012 and has had his ups and downs in Edmonton. Hopkins has been used as a wing and a center and that versatility is a big plus for the Bruins.

During Nugent’s NHL career he has tallied 313 points in 457 games. Hopkins has become more of a two-way player in recent years and is finally starting to develop his NHL identity.

He’s become one of the better young players in the league and would be a great addition if the Bruins could acquire him from the Oilers but it would take a solid package with Krug as the centerpiece for the Oilers to consider it. Hopkins has a reasonable contract and has three seasons left at six million. The Bruins would be able to take on his contract especially if Krug’s was going back in return. Then they would need to move a player out next summer.

Krug has been a monster for the Bruins and as much as they’d like to keep him it should be okay to move him if the deal makes sense.

Krug is a high-end offensive defenseman and has the highest value of the Bruins tradeable defenseman (not moving McAvoy or Carlo). Krug can give a team a boost on the back end offensively and it looks like Grzelcyk could step into Krug’s role on the Bruins’ blueline. With the Maple Leafs and Lightning bolstering their already deadly offenses, the Bruins need to catch up and finally insert a top-six winger into their group.

The season is drawing closer and the Bruins still haven’t improved their top six group. They could still fill it from within but I wouldn’t mind seeing Nugent Hopkins in the black and gold.

–Tyler Smith (@TylerSmith4386)