NHL Trade Rumors: Bobby Ryan Would Be a Perfect Fit with Boston Bruins

Anaheim Ducks forward Bobby Ryan is reportedly on the trade market, and the Boston Bruins should target him to improve their roster this season and for the future.

Daren Millard of Sportsnet.ca tweeted on Monday that the Ducks are shopping Bobby Ryan. The Ducks are last in the Pacific division and have the second-worst record in the Western Conference.

Ryan is a top-line winger who would really give the Bruins the sniping scorer that the team lacks right now. Only Tyler Seguin and Brad Marchand could be considered snipers on the Bruins roster, but both are young and still improving.

Ryan is just 24 and is in his fourth NHL season. He has scored 112 goals with 101 assists in 273 games during his career.

Who would the Bruins give up for Ryan?

David Krejci is the first name that comes to mind. After leading the playoffs in points and goals last season, Krejci has struggled this year and has not looked like the point-per-game player the team expects him to be.

Krejci has just 10 points in 19 games this season—three goals and seven assists. His plus-minus rating is minus-4. 

Krejci is a free agent next season and could make up to $6 million. The Bruins should not pay much more than $5 million for Krejci, who is a good player but not a real "top-line" center. 

Brad Richards of the Rangers, Steven Stamkos of the Lightning and Pavel Datsyuk of the Red Wings are top-line centers—Krejci is not.

Krejci is a restricted free agent next season, and the club has other contracts to worry about. Veteran center Chris Kelly is an unrestricted free agent next season, and his success is vitally important to the team.

Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent next year, too, and he must be kept so the Bruins have a dependable goalie for when Tim Thomas retires.

Gregory Campbell is also a free agent and is one of the best penalty-killers in hockey.

Paying Krejci a ton of money just isn't worth it to Boston, especially when their depth at center is strong. Tyler Seguin has played wing this season but has a ton of experience at center throughout his career.

The Ducks are 29th in the NHL in goals scored per game and desperately need a top-six center to score goals and create scoring opportunities for others.

Krejci would be a great fit in Anaheim, and the Bruins could certainly use a winger who has amazing shooting accuracy.

Ryan's cap hit is $5.1 million this season and the next three, which is affordable for the Bruins. He has scored 30-plus goals the last three seasons, and with the Bruins he will be even better, because Boston is much deeper on offense than Anaheim.

The Bruins have enough prospects and talent at the NHL level to acquire Ryan from the Ducks. Boston needs a sniping winger who can score goals.

With several important players' contracts expiring soon, the Bruins cannot afford to overpay Krejci to keep him around.

Acquiring Ryan in a deal involving Krejci is a smart move for the defending Stanley Cup champs, and it would make them stronger this season and in the future.

Follow Nicholas Goss on Twitter. Follow @NicholasGoss35.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.