FanPost

Should the Bruins Test Montreal’s Resolve on Max Pacioretty?

The Boston Bruins were a good team in 2017/18. Good enough to almost win the Atlantic Division, and good enough to make it to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. With the amount of blossoming young talent that contributed to the Bruins’ success last season, there’s every reason to expect them to improve as a group in 2018/19… But that might not be enough.

With Tampa Bay returning a deep and talented roster, not to mention its reported pursuit of Erik Karlsson, and Toronto adding star free agent signing John Tavares, Boston looks like the third-best team in the division, at least on paper at the moment.

With that in mind, and with the Bruins trying to capitalize on another fleeting year of Bergeron’s prime, the pressure should be on Don Sweeney to improve the team in whatever way he can to maximize the Bruins’ chances of making another Cup run.

Could he do so by turning to Boston’s most-hated rival?

On Tuesday, word broke that the Montreal Canadiens had informed star winger and captain Max Pacioretty that the team would not be offering him a new contract:

"According to​​ what an NHL source told The Athletic, general manager Marc Bergevin has told his captain there will be no contract negotiation and that his intention is to trade Pacioretty as soon as possible." Source (behind the pay wall)

If Montreal is looking to trade Pacioretty this offseason, something the Habs should be desperate to do as to avoid losing him for nothing next summer, Sweeney should give Bergevin a call.

Now, whether or not that call gets answered is a different story. Given the tense rivalry between the two clubs, the Bruins and Canadiens are not often trade partners. (After doing some research, the last trade I could find between the two teams was from February 21st, 2001, when the Bruins sent defenseman Patrick Traverse to Montreal for defenseman Eric Weinrich).

That said, Bergevin would be extremely misguided to not take every phone call he gets on Pacioretty this summer. By letting the information that they won’t offer him a new contract slip, Montreal has lost almost all leverage in the situation.

At this point, given that the winger is an unrestricted free agent next summer, Pacioretty would be a one-year rental for whichever team acquires him. As a result, the asking price can’t be that high for Pacioretty, especially with Montreal being a motivated seller.

With talented prospects throughout the system, the Bruins hypothetically should be able to put together a package that interests Montreal, if they’re willing to listen, without having to drain the farm too much.

According to CapFriendly, the Bruins currently have roughly $2.95 million in cap space.

Pacioretty’s cap hit is $4.5 million in 2018/19.

As a result, all the Bruins would have to do to make a Pacioretty trade work from a financial perspective is to throw in either Adam McQuaid ($2.75 million) or Kevan Miller ($2.5 million) as a makeweight… Or the Bruins could center the trade around Torey Krug (and his $5.25 million cap hit), as difficult as it would be to see him in a Habs jersey.

Is a trade with the Canadiens for Max Pacioretty likely? No, especially when you consider that it’s been over 17 years since Boston and Montreal struck a deal, and neither of the players involved were as high-profile as Pacioretty is.

But a top-six of Marchand, Bergeron, Pastrnak, DeBrusk, Krejci, and Pacioretty would certainly be good enough to help bridge the gap between Boston and Toronto/Tampa Bay.

In my opinion, it’s something Don Sweeney should absolutely consider if Montreal is willing to listen.

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