Prior to this Friday’s NHL trade deadline at 3 p.m. ET, the Boston Bruins have already made their first move.
The Boston club announced that they had acquired veteran forward Pat Maroon from the Minnesota Wild in exchange for AHL defenseman Luke Toporowski and a conditional 2026 sixth-round selection pick. The Bruins additionally disclosed that “the sixth-round conditional draft pick is only transferred if Maroon plays at least one playoff game for the Bruins during the 2023-24 playoffs.”
Maroon (6-foot-3, 234 pounds) gives the Bruins’ fourth line much-needed size and toughness.
Because of his playoff experience in addition to his physicality on the ice, he’s one of those timeless veterans who clubs want to add before the trade deadline. Three Stanley Cups have been won by Maroon: two with the Tampa Bay Lighting in 2020 and 2021 and one with the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
When will Maroon play for the Boston Bruins? Perhaps a few weeks.
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic on Friday, “Maroon underwent back surgery in early February and just recently started skating lightly.” “It’s believed he’ll be ready to debut for Boston near the end of this month.”
Though there is not much time left until the trade deadline, the Bruins may still need another left-shot defenceman.
Before Friday’s NHL trade deadline, the Boston Bruins announced that they had acquired defenseman Andrew Peeke to their lineup from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In return, the Bruins received defenseman Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round draft pick.
Peeke, 25, is recorded as being 215 pounds and 6 feet 3 inches tall. He has played in 218 NHL games as a right-shot defenseman, all with the Blue Jackets. This season, he has contributed 1:31 to the penalty kill per game. Peeke isn’t scared to risk injury in order to stop shots. The fact that he blocks 6.48 shots every 60 minutes ranks him sixth among all defenseman since the 2021–22 season began (minimum 150 games played).
Although he is a tough player, he lacks depth. He won’t make a significant attacking contribution.
Peeke is a defenceman with third-pairing ability who will probably be employed in defensive and penalty kill scenarios.
His deal, which has a $2.75 million salary cap charge, has two more years left on it. Chris Johnston of TSN reports that Peeke’s money is not being retained by the Blue Jackets in any way. The Bruins need to make another trade since they don’t have enough salary cap space to accommodate this contract.
Zboril was selected 13th overall in the 2015 NHL Draft, however he was unable to establish a reliable role for himself in Boston. He appeared in 78 NHL games after making his debut with the Bruins in the 2018–19 season. This season, he did not play for the Bruins.
Additionally, earlier on Friday, the Bruins acquired veteran forward Pat Maroon from the Minnesota Wild.