Please insert Landeskog´s picture, thank you
Three seasons back, the Boston Bruins were in a quite similar yet uncomparable situation. They sought scoring help while being on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third straight campaign. Now, the Bruins are comfortably in a playoff spots, holding the status of Cup contender. However, they still seek scoring aid.
Three years ago, the Bruins were in reported talks with the Colorado Avalanche. They wanted to acquire Gabriel Landeskog, the Avalanche’s captain. That season, the Avalanche turned out to be a dumpster fire of the NHL as they recorded only 48 points.
The Avalanche reportedly asked for Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo as a starter in the trade negotiations. Colorado would have welcomed other players in such a package as Jake DeBrusk, Jakub Zboril, Joe Morrow, or an additional first-round draft pick.
Per reports from January 2017, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said no. It was not a surprise that Colorado wanted to lure Carlo back home. The Bruins were reluctant to do that trade, and they assumed that bringing in the Avalanche’s captain was way too risky and pricey.
At the end of the day, Boston waited until the trade deadline, where they acquired Drew Stafford from Winnipeg. The struggling Avalanche found the help on their defense elsewhere as they landed Cale Makar in the 2017 NHL Draft, Bowen Byram in the last draft, and acquired Samuel Girard from Nashville later in 2017.
Dating back, might the Bruins mourn their missed chance? Landeskog’s cap hit is just $5.57 million until 2021, which is completely affordable. Since these talks occurred, the Swedish left-winger had 62 points in the 2017-18 season and 75 points in the 2018-19 season.
The Bruins didn’t wish to part ways with Carlo or DeBrusk. It’s just a similar story to that of Taylor Hall not coming to Boston. However, that time, the Bruins could acquire a player with four years left on his contract, not a pure rental. If they didn’t pull the expensive trigger back then, they wouldn’t do it this time.
