Bruins acquire Nash from Rangers
The Bruins bolstered their chances of contending for the Stanley Cup with a bold move, acquiring All-Star left wing Rick Nash from the Rangers on Sunday, a day before the NHL trade deadline.
“Our players have made a push and I wanted to inch that along if we could and reward it in a way,” Boston general manager Don Sweeney said.
Nash, a six-time All-Star, had 18 goals and 10 assists this season with the Rangers. For Boston, the 6-foot-4, 211-pounder adds much-needed size up front and makes its second line more formidable.
“I think it sends a message that management feels that we’re a real good hockey team and he’s going to make us better,” Boston head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Where that leads, you can only speculate, and I don’t want to go there now because it’s not even March.”
The Rangers received Boston’s first-round pick this year, along with forwards Ryan Spooner and Matt Beleskey, defenseman Ryan Lindgren and a 2019 seventh-round pick.
The Rangers will retain half of Nash’s remaining salary this season, the Canadian website TSN reported. Nash is making $7.8 million in the final year of an eight-year, $62.4 million contract. The Bruins will retain half of Beleskey’s contract after this season, when he will have two years left at $3.8 million per year, TSN said.
Like Boston, Toronto has a comfortable cushion to earn one of the Atlantic Division’s three guaranteed spots in the playoffs, and it’s not satisfied with that.
The Maple Leafs acquired center Tomas Plekanec and minor-league forward Kyle Baun from Montreal. The Canadiens, on the verge of missing the postseason for the second time in three years, gave up the Czech forward for a secondround pick and two prospects. Plekanec has six goals and 24 points this season with the Canadiens and 605 points in his career, which was spent entirely with them.
“It’s 15 years of my life,” Plekanec said of his time with Montreal, for which he had seven 20-goal seasons. “It’s my home. My kids go to school here. Their first language basically is French, but now I’m going to Toronto and there’s going to be playoff hockey and having a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.”
Center Mike Fisher, Nashville’s former captain, will end his retirement and return to the Predators, TSN reported. Fisher 37, had 18 goals in 72 games last season.
Nashville traded forward Pontus Aberg to Edmonton for forward Mark Letestu and sent Letestu to Columbus for a fourth-round pick.
Anaheim signed forward Chris Kelly, the captain of Canada’s Olympic team, to a oneyear, $1.25 million deal. Kelly, 37, played 82 games with Ottawa last season.
Boston signed forward Brian Gionta, the captain of the U.S. Olympic team, to a one-year, $700,000 contract. Gionta, 39, was Buffalo’s captain the previous three seasons.