NHL Trade Scenarios: Tuomo Ruutu, Tim Gleason and 10 Players the Bruins May Want

Though hardly a dire necessity, a slight qualitative and quantitative upgrade on both offense and defense is recommended for the Boston Bruins ahead of the Feb. 27 NHL trading deadline.

It’s not going to come cheap by any means. But the Bruins do have sufficient cap space to either swap out a taxi skater or minor leaguer for one seasoned skater or throw in one of their regulars to nab a comparable or better player at the same position.

The average age among Boston’s 12 offensive regulars is a barely ripe 26.4 years. A more mature, more seasoned forward with the ability to add depth and an expressed hunger for a Stanley Cup could replenish what the Bruins lost upon Mark Recchi’s retirement last spring.

A modest shakeup on defense might not hurt, either, especially if it means increasing production from the points. Although, Steven Kampfer, a veteran of only 46 career NHL games and eight this season, might have a chance to prove himself a reliable spare part as he fills in during Andrew Ference’s ongoing suspension.

Regardless, a multitude of forwards and a couple of blueliners are worth monitoring for the next month.

One report suggests yet another deal with Carolina, pursuing either defenseman Tim Gleason or forward Tuomo Ruutu. Those two—along with the rest of the top 10 worthy of a spot on Boston’s radar—are presented as follows in alphabetical order.

Jason Blake

The 38-year-old Blake is a Cup-less but capable winger. Since coming back from a wrist injury, he has tallied four goals and four assists in nine appearances with the Ducks. Perhaps not so coincidentally, the team has improved its record from 10-21-6 to 17-22-7 in that span.

Even so, the odds are against the Ducks making a long-term splash in the playoff picture. And if Anaheim is in fact looking to export Blake, his capabilities and unfulfilled hunger for a title could make him a good fit for Boston.

Tim Gleason

Gleason is certainly familiar with current Bruins defenders Joe Corvo and Dennis Seidenberg, having played with the latter as a Hurricane and with the former in both Carolina and Los Angeles.

The chief incentive for pursuing Gleason is adding insurance to the Bruins’ blue line brigade and thus not having to rely on Kampfer in case of injury, illness or suspension to one of their regulars. But besides that, the likes of the rival Philadelphia Flyers may also want him to supplement the loss of Chris Pronger.

In other words, grab him before he’s gone and obstruct or be obstructed.

Brendan Morrow

The Dallas Stars might or might not dangle their captain of six years, who remains one of their most active hitters and a decently productive scorer after a dozen seasons.

That combination of leadership and physicality would be a welcomed asset for the Bruins in the postseason, especially with Recchi out of the playoff picture for the first time since 2008. His intensity would come in particular handy in the event of a series against the New York Rangers.

Vinny Prospal

The seasoned winger and veteran of over 1,000 NHL games will turn 37 shortly before the trading deadline. While his resume is largely unremarkable, he has made a decent impression when playing for a postseason contender.

Prospal is presently the best playmaker for the worst team in the NHL and his Stanley Cup hourglass is running low on sand. A move to Boston could be mutually beneficial between the maturity and hunger he could bring to the Bruins’ offense and his new team’s incentive to help him garner a championship.

Tuomo Ruutu

If possible, a blockbuster deal with the floundering Carolina Hurricanes could make general manager Peter Chiarelli’s life much easier in the coming month.

One swap with one team to add a spare part to at least one position would likely cost one established NHLer and a couple of rising players. That might mean reeling in Ruutu at forward and Gleason on defense in exchange for someone along the lines of Johnny Boychuk, Zach Hamill and Matt Bartkowski.

At least that way, the Bruins will get their deadline shopping done at a single stop, add more seasoning to the offense and lose nothing on the blue line. If Kampfer does need to be summoned for action in the playoffs, so be it.

Teemu Selanne

Like it is with Gleason and the Flyers, the Bruins may want to take preemptive action to bring in Selanne so that, in part, the Rangers cannot.

The Blueshirts are reportedly keen on bringing in the ageless Anaheim forward, which would likely mean having five or six 20-goal scorers by season’s end, the others being Marian Gaborik, Ryan Callahan, Brad Richards and possibly Derek Stepan and Carl Hagelin.

But if the Selanne derby happens and the Bruins prevail, he will be allied with at least seven fellow 20-goal getters.

In other words, the hypothetical Selanne sweepstakes could spell the difference between decisively superior and nearly neck-and-neck depth against the other Eastern Conference titan.

Ryan Smyth

This is one of the less likely of potential acquisitions, but Smyth is yet another winger over 35 still without a Cup after over 1,000 games in this league. As much as Smyth loves Edmonton, he is likely not going to find himself on a contender there in the immediate future.

If the Oilers shop him around, as has been rumored, the Bruins need not readily say no to his fruitful grit in front of the net. And in terms of his thirst for a championship, the franchise and fanbase could embrace him as a reverse Ray Bourque.

Sheldon Souray

After spending the 2010-11 season in the minors, Souray started his return to the NHL with a sizzle, tallying four goals and nine assists in his first 14 appearances with the Stars.

Injuries and one long, uncharacteristic cold spell have since confined him to four helpers in his subsequent 27 games, although that production has all come within the last 11 outings.

But if Dallas general manager Joe Nieuwendyk decides to market him and if Chiarelli is convinced a change of scenery will reignite him, Souray could be summoned to lend more playmaking to the blue line.

Paul Stastny

Colorado is by no means out of the playoff picture, yet the Avalanche may still decide to move one of their top scorers and allow newer, younger blood to flow in.

Depending on how flexible Stastny can be, the Bruins might take him off of Colorado’s hands and make him a depth forward. His faceoff proficiency could make him easy to fall back on if Chris Kelly continues to struggle and needs to be scratched in the homestretch or postseason.

Or if need be, the coaching staff could send an on-the-fly message to the likes of Seguin by supplanting him with Stastny on the top six.

In exchange, the Avs could obtain Hamill, a minor leaguer and/or a draft pick, something they had sacrificed to import goaltender Semyon Varlamov last summer.

Ray Whitney

You may recall that Whitney’s name circulated with great density amidst the Bruins’ October plight. Although Boston is now in a position to secure another Northeast Division title, there is no need to avoid resurrecting trade talks with the Coyotes.

A teammate of Recchi’s on the 2006 champion Hurricanes, Whitney is all but a carbon copy of the retired Bruins’ assistant captain. Save for about 10 pounds, they are of a similar size and stature. Whitney’s offensive numbers have been comparably steady from season to season, even in his late 30s.

And now, he is reportedly itching to contend for one more title. Tinkering on the age of 40 and being on a Phoenix team that is no sure thing for the playoffs, the still-productive winger’s best bet is to seek membership with a certified contender.