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Boston Bruins

The Athletic got absolutely roasted over this Bruins trade idea

Author Matt Dolloff
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - JANUARY 03: Elias Lindholm #28 of the Calgary Flames and Brandon Carlo #25 of the Boston Bruins battle for control of the puck during the second period at TD Garden on January 03, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The Athletic did a brave thing: they put a Bruins trade proposal out on social media. It did not go well for them.

That’s because the offer is just a tad lopsided. The idea came from a new column by Calgary-based staff writer Julian McKenzie and senior NHL prospects writer Corey Pronman, who cooked up trade ideas for Flames center Elias Lindholm. The Bruins would certainly make sense as a future destination for Lindholm, a bona fide two-way top-six center.

MORE: Bruins head into bye week on a high note

Problems, though. Lindholm is having a down season in a contract year, and in the hypothetical trade scenario, the Flames are asking the Bruins for a 2025 first-round pick, Matthew Poitras, and Trent Frederic.

Simply way too much.

And The Athletic rightly got roasted for such an outrageous trade idea.

https://twitter.com/BrandyLeigh2194/status/1752044109609447665

That’s just a small sampling of the classic “ratio” attack on The Athletic’s initial tweet.

Lindholm, 29, averaged 72.2 points per 82 games over the previous five seasons. He’s on pace for a still-solid 54 points in the 2023-24 campaign, but that alone should drop his trade value somewhere down below a first-round pick, top prospect, and roster regular.

But what really sends this trade to the trash bin is that Poitras and Frederic are exceeding expectations for the Bruins. Poitras is already emerging as a viable NHL center as a 19-year-old rookie, while Frederic is on pace for 49 points, which would be a new career-high.

The trade idea might have been reasonable if Poitras was still an unknown prospect, and/or if Frederic wasn’t playing so well in his own right. And there’s also the thought that the Bruins could simply wait for Lindholm to hit free agency and sign him without having to give up anything in a trade.

It’s more likely that the Bruins stand pat at the 2024 NHL trade deadline. They have more than enough pieces for the middle and bottom of the roster, and there doesn’t seem to be an appetite for a big “go for it” kind of move, anyway. So, yeah, no disrespect to McKenzie or Pronman or The Athletic, but … that trade idea will not be happening. Frankly, they probably wanted the attention anyway.

(Click here to subscribe to the Sports Hub Underground podcast.)

Get complete Boston Bruins coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt’s content.

HIGHLIGHTS: Bruins crush Flyers, head into bye week on high note

The Boston Bruins scored four goals within a span of 4:14 in the first period to bury the Philadelphia Flyers early, coming away with a 6-2 road win at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.

David Pastrnak scored twice and added an assist for the Bruins in the win. The final score didn’t necessarily reflect the way the Flyers played offensively at times, as they lost despite out-shooting the Bruins 37-29 in the game.

Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark was outstanding for the B’s, making 35 saves for his 15th win of the season. Ullmark kept the Flyers off the board early on, putting the Bruins in position to spark their four-goal assault that put the game away in the opening 20 minutes.

WATCH: Bruins-Flyers Highlights

The game started slowly for the Bruins, but they weathered the storm, as Ullmark stopped all nine Philly shots prior to Boston’s first goal. Then, suddenly, the floodgates opened.

Pastrnak opened the scoring with his 32nd goal with one of his patented moves, freezing the goalie with a fake to the outside then ripping the puck past him at an impossible angle. The Bruins were just getting started with this one.

  • McAvoy Finishes Great Pass

    The B’s would get the next goal just 1:37 later. Charlie McAvoy had a tap-in for the goal thanks to a heads-up cross-ice pass from Pavel Zacha, finishing the play off to make it 2-0.

  • Heinen’s Goal Upheld On Review

    The Bruins’ third goal would come off multiple bounces. It was that kind of afternoon for them and the Flyers. Danton Heinen barely got a piece of the puck on the way to the net from a deflected shot by Brandon Carlo, and the goal was upheld on a high-stick review to give the Bruins a 3-0 lead.

  • A Pair For ‘Pasta’

    And just 1:36 after the Heinen goal, Pastrnak made it two for himself and four for the team. Pastrnak buried the loose puck after it bounced his way for the unassisted goal, his 33rd of the season. He’s now on pace to score 55 on the season.

  • Van Riemsdyk Scores On Former Team

    The Flyers switched goalies for the second period, but it didn’t help. Former longtime Flyer James van Riemsdyk joined in on the scoring barrage with his eighth of the season, smacking home the puck off a gritty pass from Pastrnak, who won the board battle to make the assist and give the B’s a 5-0 lead.

  • Flyers Get On The Board

    The Flyers finally broke Ullmark’s shutout bid late in the second period. Flyers rookie Tyson Foerster escaped a hip check along the half boards then beat Ullmark with an impressive pivot and toe drag before the shot, chipping away at the deficit at 5-1.

  • Foerster Gets His Second

    Foerster made the game a little interesting in the third period, making it 5-2. His shot from the slot deflected off Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk and Ullmark couldn’t quite handle the change-up.

  • Coyle Puts The Game Away

    Despite a late push from the Flyers, Bruins forward Charlie Coyle iced the game for good with his 18th goal of the season to make it 6-2. Coyle is now on pace for 30 goals, which would be a new career-high.

  • Up Next…

    The Bruins will head into their bye week on a high note, entering the break at 31-9-9, the best record in the Eastern Conference. They’ll get back to game action on Feb. 6 against the Calgary Flames at TD Garden.

    (Click here to subscribe to the Sports Hub Underground podcast.)

    Get complete Boston Bruins coverage at 985TheSportsHub.com.

    Matt Dolloff is a writer and podcaster for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Check out all of Matt’s content.

Matt, a North Andover, Massachusetts native, has been with The Sports Hub since 2010. Growing up the son of Boston University All-American and Melrose High School hall-of-fame hockey player Steve Dolloff, sports was always a part of his life. After attending Northeastern University, Matt focused his love of sports on writing, extensively writing about all four major Boston teams. He also is a co-host of the Sports Hub Underground podcast and is a regular on-air contributor on the Sports Hub. Matt writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.

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