THE NEXT MOVE? Bruins Pulling Off CONTROVERSIAL Jeremy Swayman TRADE? Boston’s Top 5 Trade Chips!
I’ve been talking about it all summer. The Bruins got to make some deals. Okay, I’m not saying they’re going to go out and make this big splash hockey trade hubo for Matthew Kachchuck kind of deal. They’re not going to do that. But with the cap situation they’re in, with how bad they’re going to be, whether they keep these guys or don’t, it does make sense that they would go out and make some more trades, kind of like what they started at the trade deadline uh this past year. So, after that fire sale, what is actually left for the Bruins? Let’s talk about it. Here are the top five Bruins trade ships for the 202526 season. Now, I went over these with the idea of, okay, they need to have value and guys that the Bruins are actually going to want to move on from, right, in some capacity. Okay, David Posternok is not going to be on this list. He is the most valuable. Then again, there’s someone who you might want to be number one. You want to be traded so bad, but they’ve got a bad cap hit. They’re a little bit lower on the list than you might have hoped. So, without any further ado, the top five Boston Bruins trade ships for 2025, 2026. Number five, Matthew Potra. Now, I’ve talked about this this summer. It’s not necessarily one I want to see happen, but Matthew Potra is a legit trade ship for this Bruins team, depending on, you know, what they can get in return, of course, and what direction they’re looking to go. Um, has gotten a sniff of the NHL. Okay, 66 NHL games at this point, 26 points, six goals, 20 assists, one goal in 33 NHL games last year. It certainly looked like a bit of a step back for Patra battling a bit of an injury coming off the injury in 2023 24 when he looked to have a pretty promising start to the season. Still very young 22 small cap hit 870,000 and importantly is a restricted free agent after this season in which he will still be 22. Obviously the Bruins want to keep him. I want the Bruins to keep him. I think he’s a piece of this Bruins future. But when you’re looking in the situation that the Bruins are in and you’re just trying to get in talent and future any way that you can, if Matthew Potra doesn’t project to be a top six guy for you, a a top two center on your team in your in your top six of forwards, um then maybe you just see what you can get for him. Um, any kind of ambitious trade the Bruins want to make in the next couple of months will probably include someone like Matthew Potra. It would include someone like Mason Lorai, who I did not put on this list, spoiler alert, because I just don’t think um there’s any way that they’re trading him at this point with how much investment they’ve put into him in terms of time and being on the NHL roster all of last year. Matthew Potra, on the other hand, another guy that was up and down. I still don’t know how much they trust him um to play in the NHL this year. I wouldn’t be surprised if he starts uh the season in the AHL, which I don’t think will be good, but I wouldn’t be stunned if the Bruins do it. Of course, the big questions for him, is he big enough? Is there been has there been too much pressure on him to learn so much so quickly uh for a guy who’s not a top 10 pick or anything like that? Matthew Potra comes in at number five. At number four for the Bruins trade chips, someone who I think a lot of Bruins fans would hope would be number one, Jonas Corposalo. Um, obviously he is the one that I think Bruins fans would be okay with trading the most. Okay, he is a backup goalender, not a very good one. Um, had one of the worst years of his career last year coming off what was probably the worst year of his career. uh the year before in Ottawa where he was arguably the worst goalender in the entire NHL, got a big contract and was traded just a year after signing it. Um this has just been bad from the start. I almost feel bad for Corposalo. Uh he comes in, he’s traded for a Vzna Trophy winning goalie who was a huge fan favorite in Lena Solar. and as soon as he comes in, he’s almost thrust into starter mode because the starting goalender is holding out through the beginning of the season basically. Um, yeah, would love for him to be the number one trade ship on this list, but that cap hit just sucks even with Ottawa taking some of it. It’s still a $3 million cap hit. It’s $3 million owed for the next three years before he becomes a UFA at age 33. three more seasons of Jonas Corposalo at 3 million on your books to be a backup. It just sucks. It’s got to be one of the worst contracts in the league. Obviously, not a huge money hit at 3 million, but for a bad backup goalie, when you have a good goalie in your AHL team, um, one who literally won the VZNA of the AHL and you just extended him, it’s just going to feel real pointless to have Yonas Gorasalo on your NHL roster, taking up $3 million of a cap hit and playing less than 30 games a year. Just doesn’t make much sense. 27 games last year, second lowest uh number of his career since he kind of broke into the league as a real starter. Uh 893 save percentage and a minus 4.6 goal save above average. Just horrible. Um again, you feel for the guy and most of the most of the attention went on Swayman because of the money he was being paid and him not having a good year either. Uh, but this is not even close to a goalie tandem, which the Bruins have done so well over the last decade, decade and a half. You know, you talk about Tim Thomas and Tukar Ras, Tuka and a couple other guys. Uh, and then of course Mark and Swayman and you trade for a guy in Corposalo who has yet another year, four of the last five where he’s under a 900 save percentage, a thing that Lenus Olmark has never done in his career, which is dip below 900. Um the problem with Corposalo and why he’s number four again is you’re going to have to tack on a pick or a good player in a deal with Yonas Corposalo, there’s a goalie market out there, which I will get to in a little bit, but Yonas Corpalo is not part of it. Nobody wants this guy. Why would you? He’s a backup. He’s owed too much money. It just doesn’t make much sense. But of course, if you’re looking for things that the Bruins need to offload, Jonas Corposal in his contract is right at the very top of the list. He’s number four on this list because I don’t think anybody wants him. Number three, speaking of guys nobody wants, number three Bruins trade ship for this year, Casey Middlestat. I don’t know if the Bruins ever wanted Casey Middlestat in the first place if we’re being totally honest. Um I I imagine they went to Colorado looking at Will Zeers um for the Charlie Coyle trade, maybe another prospect in there and they said, “Sure, we’ll give you Will Zers, but you’ve got to take Casey Middlestat.” And they said, “Ah, I guess we got to do it.” Um did not do much to impress with the Bruins. That’s kind of the story of his whole career. He was a top 10 pick in 2017, I think, eighth overall by Buffalo. and he’s the only guy who looked like he was going to be a star in Buffalo, left Buffalo, and didn’t become a star. Everybody else does it, right? Reinhardt, O’Reilly, uh, Omar, you know, go up and down the list. Casey Middle’s the only one that doesn’t do it. He’s the only one that’s left and has not become a star after that. And he’s owed a lot of money. $5.75 million cap hit over the next two seasons. he becomes a UFA after next next season 2027. Um 15 goals and 40 points in 81 games last year for a guy who was taken in the top 10. And he actually did basically put up that same statline in his career with the Avalanche as he was dealt last trade deadline. 81 career games for Colorado and 15 goals for Colorado. One of the most free flowing teams in the league, man. Look at the superstar power they have on that team. And Casey Middlestack could not find the back of the net playing for them. Couldn’t do it for the Bruins either. Four goals in 18 games since coming over to Boston in the trade deadline. And just a failed prospect, man. Just a failed prospect. And I think we’re probably past the oh, we can fix him phase with any team. Even though he’s still only 27, excuse me, 26, going to turn 27 in this season. He’s still only 26, but I think teams are past the whole we can fix him kind of thing. Uh maybe there’s a good team out there that thinks they can do it. You know, a team with a good culture and good guys in the locker room and a good coach, but I think Colorado would check a lot of those boxes as well. I know Nathan McKinnon can be pretty tough to play with, but uh it seems like other guys have found their stride in Colorado and that’s a pretty good organization, good team. Uh so maybe you can get that. But honestly, he’s just a warm body out there, right? He doesn’t put the puck in the net. He’s not really a power play guy anymore. Doesn’t do much defensively. Nothing physically. Doesn’t kill penalties. He’s just out there getting cardio, filling up a uniform. Um, and that’s why I think he probably will play for the Bruins this year because like Corposalo, you’ve got to tack on some capital to get rid of Casey Middlestat. And that’s just not going to be a position where the Bruins want to be. You’re going to suck anyway. You might as well kind of keep him without giving up some of your premium picks. um maybe you can throw them in in a deal for a young guy or maybe you can always pull off a hockey trade and get someone else’s damaged goods and then you’re just repeating the process in a couple months. So maybe maybe there’s a good team that wants to fix him and maybe he’s got 15 goals by the trade deadline and you could do that. Uh but you’re probably going to have to tack on something with them and it’s probably going to have to be some sort of a salary dump. Before we get to number two, which is where things get really interesting, I do want to do some of the honorable mentions, just two. So, real quick, uh, two honorable mentions for Bruins trade chips. Andrew Peak is a really interesting one. Um, now, he didn’t quite make this list just because I don’t know what the market is for him right now. Um, but Andrew Peak, I think, is going to be a lovely trade piece for the Bruins come the trade deadline. He is a still a super dependable stay-at-home defensive defenseman in the prime of his career age-wise at age 27. Very low cap hit at 2.75 million that expires at the end of the season. Um the Bruins ended up getting a first round pick for Brandon Carlo with a year and a half left on his deal. Um I’m think I’m just wondering if I don’t know if you get a first round pick for Peak. Maybe you get someone that’s desperate enough for that, but maybe a a future down the line, first round pick, a second, maybe a decent player. Um, I think there’s so many options when it comes to Andrew Peak, but more so at the trade deadline than there is right now. And he’s a guy I like on their third pairing. I really do. I don’t know exactly what his role is with this year’s team, even though he is dependable and the Bruins need dependable guys. Um, they’re clearly going for some puck movers, some physical guys. Um, and that kind of divides the low-rise from the Zidorovs. Where does Peak fit in there? I think he’s still dependable. Kind of a poor man’s Brandon Carlo who was struggling the last couple of years. Anyway, uh, that’ll be a very interesting one to look at come March. Uh, the other honorable mention uh, that I want to talk about that does get kind of controversial among Bruins fans, I’d say, is Hampus Lindholm, whom I forgot to put a picture in for, so there you go. Uh Hampus Lindholm is a guy who is still a big part of this Bruins team, don’t get me wrong. Uh he’s coming off an injury, supposed to be a bounceback year. You kind of never know with an injury that bad for a guy north of 30, but still a good two-way puck moving defenseman who can quarterback a power play. Probably your second power play unit uh for any team that’s interested in him. He’s still got a big contract in terms of the of in terms of the term. Uh he’s got five more years on that contract, including this one. And that cap hit is only at 6 a.5 million. Um I say only because he can be a top pairing defenseman on a playoff team or a really really solid second pairing defenseman on a good good playoff team. Um and I wonder what kind of team that’s contending for the cup is looking and thinking, boy, we could use a guy like that. Uh maybe one of these young upand cominging teams that still have some cap space. That’s a very teamfriendly deal. Um, that cap is only going to go up over the next couple of seasons. That cap hit is going to continue to go down. Um, I look at someone I look at some of these teams that are young and on the rise and probably ready to contend. Uh, teams like Montreal probably not giving up home to Montreal. Uh, Utah, I think, would fit in there. Um, not the last time we’ll talk about Utah in this segment, but I think they will fit in there. And ironically enough, Anaheim, uh, the team they got him from, could be a good fit as a team that’s probably ready to make the jump to the postseason. They’ll need some help at the deadline. Hampus Lindholm, if you continue to suck and you can get a a big-time deal, maybe even for a Mason McTavish, then His Lindholm is a guy I don’t think the Bruins would mind parting with um because of the value he can bring to a good team. So, those honorable mentions. Let’s hop back into it. The number two trade chip piece for the Boston Bruins this year, Jeremy Swayman. Stick with me on this one. Yes, Jeremy Swayman is a trade chip for the Bruins this year. Is it the most likely one? Probably not. But he still ends up high on this list because of the value he can bring. Maybe this is me being naive, but I don’t think Jeremy Swayman’s going to have a year like he did last year. Um, it was bad. I mean, it was the worst year of his career. 892 save percentage, 311 goals against, led the league in goals against, uh, in 58 games. His goal save above average was horrendous compared to what it was the year before. Um, but I think a lot of teams are still going to see him as the all-star that he was in 23-24 and that great postseason that he had through those two rounds that the Bruins played in. U, I think there’s still some interest for Jeremy Swayman. Do I think the Bruins trade him? Probably not. And it’s a tough thing to do at 8 and a4 million a year. I fully understand that. Okay. So, before you get in the comments about that, um, which I do want to hear your guys’ opinions in the comment section below. Before you get in the comments about it, I fully understand uh eight and a quarter million for another eight years is not an easy thing for another team to take on. But I will say this, there has become a premium on goalenders in this league again. Okay? And what I mean by that is there are some good teams that are ready to get over the top with a good goalie. Teams like Edmonton who’ve lost in the final the last two years. Teams like Carolina who keep losing in the conference finals. Now, those teams are stacked up against it when it comes to the salary cap. So, it’s probably not them this year. If the Bruins suck again and those situations continue to suck, I could see them making a deal for someone like a Jeremy Swayman who is entering his prime years even for a goalender and still has allstar caliber quality and and I think he’s going to have a bounceback year. A team to keep an eye on in terms of a Jeremy Swayman sweep stakes, the Utah Mammoth. Utah is ready to make the playoffs. They’ve got a good young core, which means they’re going to be good for a while, they think. It also means they’re cheap. They’ve got cap space. Okay, not a ton of it. Not 12 million. It’s about 6 million right now. And they’ve got guys they can part with. So, in terms of like a mock deal of what this could be, you could see something where Jeremy Swayman goes to Utah and Nick Schmaltz comes to Boston as a part of a package from the Mammoth. Okay. Schmaltz, 28-year-old winger, 20 plus goals and 55 plus points in each of the last four seasons. Uh, comes in with absolutely something the Bruins need. That is production and that is production on the wing. Nick Schmaltz fits that on a team-friendly contract. Um, that could be something where you could see a package that includes Jeremy Swayman for a package that includes Nick Schmaltz. Very, very low chance that they trade Sway, but he is absolutely a trade ship for this team. Which brings us to number one. The number one trade ship for the Boston Bruins in 2025, Pavl Zaka. Okay, I think a lot of people underestimate just how valuable Pavl Zaka is. It’s a player I like, but also a player with where the Bruins are at right now, I don’t mind parting ways with if you can get a real package for him. In terms of the value and the likelihood of him getting traded, there’s really no other choice for number one than Zaka. Um, he still has terrific value. $4.75 million cap hit for the next two seasons, UFA after 2027. guy who’s still in those prime years, 27 years old, and has been a legit two-way guy with versatility. He can play center, he can play on the wing. He held his own as a firstline center for for this Bruins team. He plays well with David Posternok in his three years with Boston, 59, 57, and 47 points, 20 plus goals twice, and a good penalty killer to go along with that. Uh again, admirable at center, more of a middle six- winger and a PK kind of guy. Good teams will want a guy like Pavle Zaka. Guy who can play up and down the lineup, kill penalties, 20 goals at that cap hit. Like no doubt, he will be a a sexy guy for a lot of teams out there once they’re already in the postseason. He is a guy who can headline a deal for someone like Jordan Kyru, for someone like Marco Rossi, even Mason McTavish. These guys that the Bruins have looked at this summer and could absolutely be great fits for them. They actually have a guy who could headline a package for them. He can make a playoff team healthier, sturdier, giving them more versatility and dependability. He’s absolutely a great trade chip right now. And if the Bruins are going to make a hockey trade, Pavlz Zaka might be really the only one they can do that with, which is ironic because he did come in a hockey trade for Ericala. He’s not going to be traded for someone like Arakala again. He’s going to be traded for someone better than that. So Pavle Zaka, I like him. I don’t mind if the Bruins keep him, but if you are going to be a bad team again this year, which I think they very well will be, Pavle Zaka fits much better for a contending team than he does for a lottery team. Those are my top five trade chips for the Boston Bruins in 2025. Let me know what you think in the comments section below. Be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel. Helps me out a ton. We are on the march towards 4,000 subscribers and we need your help in getting there. It’s completely free and we talk nothing but Boston sports five days a week live on YouTube then wherever you get your podcast as well. Check out the other videos talking Bruins, talking Red Sox, everything else going on in the world of Boston sports. I’m your host Cam Stewart. Zack Burke keeps us on the air five days a
The Boston Bruins’ fire sale isn’t over yet. After moving Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, and Brandon Carlo, the team is fully committed to a new era—and that means no one is safe. In this video, we count down the Bruins’ top 5 trade chips for the 2025-26 season.
The biggest question mark of all is in net. With a full no-move clause looming next year, is this the final chance for the Bruins to move on from Jeremy Swayman without his consent? We break down his disappointing last season and why the pressure is on for him to prove his worth.
We also dive into other potential trade candidates, from veteran contracts that could be moved for cap space to younger players who might be packaged to acquire a key piece for the future. From Pavel Zacha to other young forwards looking for a fresh start, we analyze who is most likely to be on the move as the Bruins continue their rebuild.
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