Time for B’s to strike

A big trade could boost team’s hopes

TORONTO — The Bruins are enjoying three days of rest and relaxation here before gearing up for their most difficult stretch run.

And general manager Don Sweeney is presumably working feverishly

BRUINS BEAT Steve Conroy

to land at least one of the several impact players believed to be on the market until Monday’s trade deadline. Here’s hoping he puts enough bait on the hook to land a big fish.

A complete, damn-thefuture approach is not wise, especially with teams now always needing to back-fill their roster with prospects because of the financial restrictions of today’s game.

However, the Bruins have enough assets on the farm or at least under their control that, if combined with a high draft pick, could land an impact player.

At the top of the wish list here is Rangers power forward Rick Nash.

They need to go for it. Why the urgency? Let’s count the ways.

• David Krejci’s health. The second line center has not missed as much time in recent years as some people think. He played all 82 games last year. But a variety of ailments has limited his effectiveness. After overcoming a couple of injuries earlier this season, he’s played in 22 straight games and appears healthy (vigorous knock on the wooden table). He’s got 28 points in 40 games, a rate that could go up with a natural scoring winger (like Nash). Krejci is an important piece, but there’s no telling what his soon-to-be 32-year-old body will bear.

• Riley Nash’s career year. Nash’s solid productivity has been a huge part of the Bruins’ success. Whether he can duplicate it again is open for debate, so there’s no guarantee he’ll even be a Bruin next year. Nash is set to become an unrestricted free agent and, with the way Sweeney and team president Cam Neely talked about not overpaying for certain commodities, he may be out of the team’s price/term range.

• The fourth line. In rare cases, chemistry can carry over from year-to-year as it has with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. There’s no telling if that will be the case for the unit of Tim Schaller, Sean Kuraly and Noel Acciari if they reconvene next season. Schaller will be an unrestricted free agent and Acciari, because of the wrecking ball style he plays, is injury-prone. What this group has done this year is impressive, not only shutting down other teams’ top lines on occasion but also coming up with big goals.

• Anton Khudobin. If all things go according to plan, Khudobin won’t see any playoff time. But the support he’s given Tuukka Rask has been terrific. He’s 12-3-4 with a 2.34 goalsagainst average and .923 save percentage, and, most importantly, he’s given Rask the break he’s needed. Rask has responded with Vezina-quality goaltending. Khudobin’s success during the time that Rask struggled earlier very well may have saved the season. He, too, will be unrestricted and while it would behoove the B’s to re-sign him with what they have in Providence, he’s been inconsistent from year-to-year.

• Zdeno Chara’s future. With a little more offensive output, the 40-yearold marvel would be in the Norris Trophy discussion. He has been the B’s best defender, without question, and arguably their MVP. But when will we see a drop-off? He’s dedicated to his health and is legendarily fit, always open to new ways to stay ahead of the curve. But is it realistic to think he can keep doing this year after year? On top of that, he, too, is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent and, while both sides say they want to continue the relationship, you never know until the contract is signed.

That’s a lot to chew on. Coach Bruce Cassidy likes what he has, and he feels the winning chemistry that’s been built among the players is real, not something to be messed with lightly.

“It’s been factored into the conversations between myself and Donnie. We have a group that has a real togetherness there,” said Cassidy. “At the end of the day, if you can add and make the team better, you have to always look at that and that’s what Donnie’s doing right now. Adding (defenseman Nick) Holden, I think he’s done that. He’s given us more depth. We’ll see where he fits in. After that, I do worry if we subtract someone from the team. If you’re adding and not subtracting, moving future assets, as a coach you always prefer to go that way.

“But Donnie will do what’s best for the club and, as a coaching staff, we’ll take it from there.”

There has been chatter that the B’s are still in on Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh, despite the fact they’ve already acquired Holden. McDonagh is certainly an intriguing piece but the feeling here is it would disrupt too much. Perhaps that could be revisited in the summer.

But Rick Nash? He’d look awfully good riding shotgun with Krejci.