The Boston Bruins trade that grabbed most of the headlines Monday was the deal that sent Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks in what can be described as a pure salary dump. The other trade the B’s made Monday deserves further analysis, too, because it could actually end up being a sneaky good move.
The Bruins swapped a pair of AHL players by sending center Shane Bowers to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for defenseman Reilly Walsh.
Walsh has been a very productive player in the minor leagues and could compete for a third-pairing role at the NHL level during the upcoming season.
Connor Clifton is coming off a career season for the Bruins as their right-side defenseman on the third pairing. He tallied a career-high 23 points and made strides defensively, while also limiting the number of bad penalties he takes. Clifton is eligible to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent Saturday afternoon, and with the Bruins in a salary cap crunch, he could probably find a larger role and a higher salary elsewhere.
If Clifton departs, Walsh could be a nice replacement.
Walsh, a Framingham, Mass, native, is a right-shot defenseman who is just 24 years old. He has strong puck-moving skills, he skates well, and his shot from the point generally gets through traffic to the net.
His playmaking ability is impressive, too. In fact, he has tallied 30-plus assists and 40-plus points in back-to-back AHL seasons. He also scored nine goals in both of those campaigns.
The Bruins very much needed another right-shot defenseman. The only players on their NHL roster who currently fit that description are Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Clifton (free agent) and Jakub Zboril (32 games played over the last two seasons). In addition to Walsh, the B’s also acquired a pair of right-shot defensemen in Alec Regula and Ian Mitchell.
Of course, it remains to be seen how well Walsh would play in a consistent NHL role. He has just one game of NHL experience since being drafted in the third round by the Devils in 2017.
But this trade is a good gamble by the Bruins. They’ve added a player whose skill set matches how Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery wants his defensemen to play, and the move adds good depth in a key position at a low cost.
The last time Bruins general Don Sweeney made a trade with the Devils, he acquired Pavel Zacha in exchange for Erik Haula last July. It was a home run. This trade for Walsh isn’t likely to have the same impact, but it does have a pretty decent chance of being beneficial for the B’s, especially if the Framingham native earns a consistent role as the sixth or seventh defenseman.