NHL trade deadline: Erik Cole rumored to be on Bruins' shopping list
The Boston Bruins are still in the market for offense. Could Dallas Stars forward Erik Cole be a player that might interest them?
By
Adam Gretz
•
2 min read
Even though the Boston Bruins have needed some offensive help for much of the 2014-15 season, it still remains to be seen whether or not they will try to complete a deal to address that need before Monday's trade deadline. Or whether or not they should.
The name that has been most often associated with them in trade rumors and speculation over the past few weeks and months has been Buffalo Sabres forward Chris Stewart, a complete wild card of a player that could either score seven goals in 10 games or never be heard from in three months. On Tuesday, ESPN's Pierre LeBrun offered up another name that is believed to be on their shopping list -- Dallas Stars forward Erik Cole.
An unrestricted free agent following the season, the 36-year-old Cole figures to be a likely candidate to move out of Dallas if management determines they will not be able to catch the current wild card teams in the Western Conference, an outcome that is starting to look very likely. After losing back-to-back games over the weekend to Detroit and Minnesota the Stars sit six points out of a playoff spot entering play on Tuesday night and have three teams (Minnesota, which currently occupies the second wild card spot, Calgary and San Jose) sitting ahead of them.
For all of the trade talk centered around the Bruins there is a good argument to be made that they are probably better off doing nothing at the deadline. At this point they are a borderline playoff team that just doesn't seem to be where it has been in recent seasons as a Stanley Cup contender, so it probably doesn't make much sense to give up assets for a rental that may not make much of a difference.
On the other hand, there really isn't a clear-cut favorite in the Eastern Conference this season, and as long as Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask are healthy and in the lineup there is always the chance that trio could put the team on their backs and carry them a long way. As far as rentals go, a team like Boston could certainly do worse than a player like Cole, even if his success this season (17 goals in 55 games) is being driven by an abnormally high shooting percentage (18 percent, a significant spike from his career average 12.1 percent). He is probably not going to cost much, and he is a better option than somebody like Chris Stewart.
