The Insiders told us that the Olympic Freeze would serve as the first of two trade deadlines this season, but as usual, the (massive) buildup outpaced the action. We hear that line every time, and once again, little materialized. Beyond the Artemi Panarin deal and the Nick Bjugstad move, it was largely status quo across the league.
I believe that the Olympics — with so many general managers gathered in one place and plenty of downtime — will spark the face‑to‑face conversations that lay the groundwork for the next wave of deals. So now the league turns its attention to the real trade deadline, where those talks may finally turn into action.
And the rumors have already begun:
Pierre LeBrun on Oilers Now: Vincent Trocheck’s a guy that’s garnering a lot of interest. Keep an eye on the Wild. I don’t know where the Wild will end up going. They’ve also shown interest in Ryan O’Reilly; Charlie Coyle; I think Guerin’s all in.
Frank Seravalli on Frankly Hockey: The Rangers and Boston don’t make a ton of deals but I could see Vincent Trocheck making sense in Boston.
It’s difficult to see how Trocheck fits into Boston’s current roster plan. The move would run counter to the direction the Bruins have been charting, and it’s hard to identify a scenario where it aligns with their long‑term approach. Someone will have to make a compelling case to me for how that addition would make sense.
Darren Dreger on Barn Burner: I think of the Red Wings as being a team that’s really looking for a right shot D right now.
Pick almost any team in the league and you wouldn’t be far off — the demand for a right‑shot defenseman has rarely, if ever, been higher. The Bruins are among the many clubs scouring the market for help on the right side. The advantage of course is that if the Bruins find an improvement on the position, then they have one of their own to trade.
Dreger on Insider Trading: Teams are weary of the high asking prices. We’re talking about high end guys like Colton Parayko; Justin Faulk; Jordan Kyrou; Brayden Schenn; Robby Thomas and Jordan Binnington, all pieces in play.
Negotiations have to start somewhere. You start high and work your way down to a deal that makes sense for you. It’s Negotiations 101.
LeBrun on Melnick in the Afternoon: Jordan Kyrou, full no-move, Robert Thomas, full no-move, so A) I think that to get in on those players it’s a real high price and B) a complicating factor of would the player even want to go to a certain team.
Correct on the second point — that’s exactly how no‑movement clauses function. I don’t believe an NMC inherently drives up a player’s trade value when a team is looking to move him; if anything, it can suppress value by limiting the number of destinations the player is willing to consider. NHL trade history is full of examples where restricted flexibility narrowed the market and reduced the return.
Dave Pagnotta on Hello Hockey: Vancouver’s having conversations with a lot of guys, whether it’s Conor Garland, Drew O’Connor, Teddy Blueger, Jake DeBrusk, Elias Pettersson. So, we’ll see what they end up doing.
Do you think the Bruins moved on from DeBrusk at the right time?
Pagnotta on The Fourth Period: Timothy Liljegren is out there, which isn’t a surprise; the Sharks are listening on all their pending UFA defencemen, and while the Sharks are trying to strengthen their blueline, he doesn’t seem to fit into their plans moving forward.
I only put this here as Liljegren was someone I suggested the Bruins could target.
Elliott Friedman on Saturday Headlines regarding the Leafs: Everybody sees the standings. One thing they have done this week is begun the process of calling around to the league. They haven’t discussed anything that anyone would call huge or stunning.
Seravalli on Kevin Karius Show regarding Andrew Mangiapane: I think it’s been pretty tempered for a while, I think it’s been difficult for the Oilers to really generate interest.
Nick Kypreos on Sportsnet: The Oilers continue to work the market for Andrew Mangiapane and should be able to find a partner by March 6, though the return isn’t likely to be anything major.
Seravalli on the Kevin Karius Show: I don’t think that they’ve arrived at the place where they’re ready to attach an asset to move on. Mangiapane is the linchpin to the Oilers trade deadline; they cannot do anything unless they’re deleting players.
The real question becomes: what asset is attached to move another year at $3.6 million? My interest is piqued if the Bruins decide to move on from Andrew Peeke and/or Viktor Arvidsson, as that would free the necessary cap space. And it’s worth noting — Boston did Edmonton a similar favor last season by taking on Arvidsson’s contract – in a roundabout way. I’d rather give the spot to a prospect.
This and That
Tough news for Pavel Zacha on Saturday morning, as it was announced he will be unable to participate in the Olympics due to an upper‑body injury. He has been replaced on the roster by Filip Chlapik. While the setback is undoubtedly disappointing for Zacha, the focus now shifts to his recovery and the hope that he’ll be ready to rejoin the Bruins once NHL play resumes.
Charlie McAvoy climbed into fifth place on the Bruins’ all‑time scoring list among defensemen with his 338th point, passing Torey Krug. He now sits 79 points back of Brad Park for fourth overall.
It’s still remarkable that Park’s number remains unretired. Arguably the second‑best defenseman of his era behind Bobby Orr, Park put up 213 goals and 896 points across 1,113 NHL games. The complication, of course, is that he split his career almost evenly between Boston and the New York Rangers. And his number 22 is already retired in Boston for Willie O’Ree and number 2 in New York for Brian Leetch.
When the Olympic break ends, the Bruins will have 25 games to solidify their position — and fans are understandably hoping for a surge of wins. But with Boston holding Toronto’s first‑round pick, top‑five protected, there’s an added twist: every Leafs loss helps the Bruins’ draft capital. Careful, though — the standings have a way of turning the tables, and there may come a point when Bruins fans find themselves quietly rooting for a Toronto win. For now, it’s simply fascinating to watch it all unfold.
Which brings me to a question I keep circling back to: why did the Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers — two elite regular‑season teams a year ago — feel compelled to place top‑five and top‑ten protections, respectively, on their 2026 first‑round picks? Did they genuinely believe a significant drop‑off was possible, or were they hedging against something the rest of us didn’t see coming?
When Sandis Vilmanis caught McAvoy with a hit to the head in the final game before the break — and the Department of Player Safety declined to review it — the moment stirred up memories of 2011. That summer, I visited Gregory Campbell on his day with the Stanley Cup, and standing off to the side of the stage was Colin Campbell, then overseeing player safety. I knew him a little; he’d pass through town on his way home each summer and occasionally stop by my place of business.
I approached Campbell and raised the issue of the non‑suspension for Matt Cooke after the hit that effectively ended the career of Marc Savard. Campbell was candid: he had been prepared to suspend Cooke, but others within the Department of Player Safety pushed back, arguing there was no rule on the books that allowed for such a decision. The blindside‑hit rule that exists today was born directly from that incident.
But the hit on McAvoy — and the complete lack of response from the DOPS — is something I simply can’t wrap my head around.
I may be revisiting an old storyline, but when Yegor Chinakhov first requested a trade out of Columbus, I was firmly in the camp that the Bruins should have been in serious pursuit. Pittsburgh ultimately landed him, sending Danton Heinen, a 2026 second‑round pick, and a 2027 third‑round pick to the Blue Jackets. Since the move, Chinakhov has appeared in 18 games, producing eight goals (all even strength) and four assists — strong but unspectacular early returns for the Penguins. In that same time, only Fraser Minten has as many goals as Chinakhov and no Bruins player has as many even strength goals.
Dom - Hockey 