If I am Don Sweeney...I am going all in for another run at the cup while we still have the core of Bergeron, Marchand, Krejci, and Rask together. You can make the argument that the B's biggest need is at LD (considering the youth of the left-side and the injuries they are battling through right now), but you also could argue that we need more scoring up front. I decided it was best to address Boston's LD depth and add more scoring as well as grit up front. We saw how important gritty players like Goodrow, Maroon, and Coleman were for Tampa last year on their cup run so I decided to trade Kase for Bennett one-for-one given Calgary has shown interest in Kase in the past and while he has much better offensive upside than Bennett, you can’t forget about playoff Bennett. Bennett would add more stability and grit to Boston’s bottom-six come playoff time whereas Calgary gets rid of the player who requested a trade and bets on Kase to stay healthy and bounce back. My initial trade with NJ was Palmieri for Kase, a 2021 2nd, and a 2022 4th. I decided to spice things up a bit since DeBrusk has been a huge disappointment for many Bruins fans (not myself as I feel he still has a 30-goal ceiling and may just need a change of scenery), so I decided to send DeBrusk, prospect Oskar Steen, and a 2021 2nd to NJ for Palmieri with 50% salary retained and Miles Wood. Miles Wood would be a work-horse in Boston’s middle-six bringing speed, grit, and solid 2-way play whereas Palmieri can slot in at 2RW next to Krejci and provide 5on5 goalscoring as well as PP support. The last trade addressed the need for more LD depth…I targeted Ekholm since he brings size, experience, and solid 2-way play to Boston’s left-side and comes at a very reasonable deal that doesn’t expire till after the 21-22 season. Bjork, Vaakanainen, and a 2021 1st is a fair trade I believe but an extra pick or mid-level prospect can always be added if needed. Obviously bringing Ekholm in would make the Seattle Expansion draft that much more interesting given Boston would most likely lose Grzelcyk, but with the rise of both Lauzon and Zboril this season I feel like it could make it hurt less or maybe Seattle decides to pick one of Lauzon/Zboril instead. Let me hear your thoughts!

If I'm nj id move palmeri but id hold to miles wood. Hes one one of those guys.

Devils pass. We are keeping Wood unless its a big overpayment. Palmieri (extension) for Debrusk could work

At least it’s not Kase.
NJD says thanks but no thanks.
Too rich.

And if Bruins are win now, wouldn’t Studnicka for Palmieri be more fitting? Or Beecher? Or Lohrei? Debrusk may be struggling, but my guess he’d still be a bigger part of playoff run than others.

Have you seen palmieri this season? Let’s learn the lesson from David backes, and not sign a power forward in his 30s.

Ekholm creates expansion draft nightmares. Just stick with what the bruins have. Add a LD rental if need be.

I agree with your point on signing 30+ players to significant contracts, not a good move, but have you seen Palmieri outside of games vs Boston this season? Statistically down & he's had a few bad give aways in high profile spots, but overall he looks the same player he's always been ... still skating, playing physical & putting himself in great positions to score. He's CF% over 50 in NJ this season, would likely be 52% plus in Boston with better team. His real issue has been his shooting percentage at 7% ... history says that it will come back to a normal level for him (Call it 15-16%). When it does, he will start putting up his usual numbers.

His career shooting percentage is 12 and a half, so let’s not call it 16. Don’t care about CF. A month or two of Palmieri vs probably 5 years of debrusk is hideous asset management. Debrusk’ s career shooting percentage is higher than Palmieri’s, you willing to wait for that to come back to normal?

Your right on shooting percentage, if you go whole career... last 5 years or so, while Palmieri received top line minutes, its more in the 13.5 range, but that belies the point ... Which is that he is playing better than you inferred in your original post.

Honestly, I'm not interested in the trade. I have no view on merits. I'm not even a fan of Palmieri's, but I've watched most of his games this year & he hasn't been as bad as the statistics would tell you.

My eyes tell me there is regression.