Bruins targeting 2 Canucks leading up to trade deadline.

The Boston Bruins are targeting a pair of players on a non-playoff team's roster ahead of the National Hockey League's trade deadline this coming Friday.

The Bruins are currently in a fierce battle for the final Wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with the Bruins currently sitting pretty with 71 points but with teams like the Washington Capitals (69 points) nipping at their heels down the final stretch of the season. In that context it would make sense for the Bruins to attempt to bolster their lineup for that final push in the regular season and it seems that both forwards Brock Boeser and Conor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks are the most likely targets.

"They’ve continued to track both players again lately," said an NHL scout as per RG Media.

Boeser would be the bigger acquisition to be sure but prying him away from the Canucks will be easier said than done. Boeser is in year 1 of a 7 year contract that carries an average annual value and a cap hit of $7.25 million per season and currently has 12 goals and 14 assists for 26 points over 52 games this season.

Garland is also a player with quite a bit of term left on his deal with Garland in the 5th year of a 5 year deal that carries an average annual value of $4.95 million per season. While Garland's current contract will expire at the end of this season, he has already agreed to a 6 year contract extension with an average annual value and cap hit of $6 million per season. Garland has 7 goals and 19 assists for a total of 26 points over 48 games this season.

It sounds like the Canucks are much more open to the idea of parting ways with Garland and I could see him being an excellent fit in Boston.

"I’m told it’s much more likely Garland gets dealt rather than Boeser, and the Bruins are right there," said an NHL source.

Garland has often drawn comparisons to former Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand for his gritty playstyle despite being a smaller player by NHL standards, and I suspect that he would be wholeheartedly embraced by the same fan base that embraced Marchand in the past.