BOSTON – The question of whether or not to trade Loui Eriksson moved one step closer to the affirmative on Monday when the San Jose Sharks sent a pair of second-round picks along with expiring contract Raffi Torres to the Maple Leafs for rental defenseman Roman Polak and bottom-six center Nick Spaling.
Amid reports nearly a month ahead of the Feb. 29 trade deadline that GMs would be reluctant to part with first-round picks for rental players, it doesn’t appear the trade market will be shaping up for the predicted trade asset rollback. A pair of second-round picks for a decent stay-at-home defenseman in Polak is a very exorbitant price paid by the Sharks. It will only up go up for potentially elite players on the trade market like Eriksson, Andrew Ladd and Eric Staal among others.
Add that to an interesting report from Gary Lawless that the Winnipeg Jets have already received an offer of a first-round pick and a prospect for Ladd, and the trade market appears to be shaping up for the Bruins to get a very good return for Eriksson, who is red-hot and on pace for 29 goals and 64 points this season.
That doesn’t mean the Bruins need to settle on a first round pick/prospect return for Eriksson, of course. Perhaps there will be renewed interest in some kind of deal involving an Eriksson-led package to the St. Louis Blues for puck-moving defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk amid the news that Alex Steen is out at least a month with an upper body injury, or maybe Don Sweeney can get one of the teams (Anaheim, Minnesota or Winnipeg) flush with young D-men to start talking serious trade.
Still, it’s been obvious for months now that the Bruins and Eriksson’s camp were widely apart on contract terms for an extension, and that the Swedish winger will be playing somewhere other than Boston next season. So a not-ready-for-a-Cup-run Bruins team will be hard-pressed to ignore full value for a player that will walk away for nothing in the summer, and a potential trade that could open up a top six wing spot for a bright, young prospect in Frank Vatrano.
That being said, Brad Marchand didn’t shy away from admitting that shipping away a key player in Eriksson at the deadline could negatively impact the morale inside the Bruins dressing room. After all, this is a team in second place in the Atlantic Division and seemingly as good as many other flawed playoff-level teams in the East.
“I’ve never really thought about it. I mean, maybe it could be [tough to take]. But Loui is a big part of this team and he’s here. We need him every night, and he’s been playing great for us,” said Marchand. “Whatever happens isn’t up to us, and we’re not worried about it. Loui is a teammate in here, and until the day – if that ever happens – that he’s not then we’ll treat him the same way. That’s all there is to it.”
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So, clearly there is a short-term risk that the bottom could drop out once a top all-around performer like Eriksson has been ripped out of the B’s dressing room.
This is a tough spot for Sweeney with the deadline just a week away, and team that’s incredibly difficult to handicap this season. The bottom line is that the future for the Black and Gold is the No. 1 priority for this season and trading away Eriksson can get the Bruins more significant building blocks for that future.
Given that the trade market will be favorable once again for the sellers, Sweeney and the Bruins would be wise to avoid last spring’s folly. Failing to deal off Carl Soderberg for a first-round pick from a team destined to disappoint was a major misstep in asset management. Failing to deal Eriksson from a team building for the future would be much the same.
