The good news for the Chicago Blackhawks is that young phenom forward Connor Bedard, whom they selected with the 1st overall pick after winning the Draft Lottery, is as good as advertised and appears poised to be a franchise player for years to come.
The bad news is that there really isn't much around him, and as expected, the team isn't very good and won't make the playoffs barring some kind of extreme miracle. And with the NHL Trade Deadline now just a few months away, there will be speculation ramping up as to who the Blackhawks could part with in exchange for future assets.
One such player who happens to be playing in the final year of his current contract is 2-time Stanley Cup winner Tyler Johnson, who is in his third year with the Blackhawks since being acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021. According to Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now, a League source has confirmed that Johnson will soon be on the trading block, and that he could be a potential fit with the Bruins:
"An NHL executive source has confirmed to Boston Hockey Now that the Chicago Blackhawks are letting it be known that center Tyler Johnson will be available on the NHL trade market. The 33-year-old, 5-foot-8, 185-pound pivot is in the final season of a seven-year, $35 million cap hit. Per our friends at Puckpedia, Johnson has accumulated $2,005,209 of his $5 million salary cap hit this season. Johnson has seven goals and four assists in 34 games this season."
While the Bruins maintain their lead in the Atlantic Division, they certainly could use another right-handed center with championship experience in the wake of the retirement of franchise icon Patrice Bergeron over the summer. An acquisition of Johnson likely wouldn't cost an unreasonable amount for Bruins GM Don Sweeney.
Is this the type of player that the Bruins should be targeting?
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