We are just two days into the NHL offseason, and trades have begun to happen ahead of the NHL Entry Draft next week in Los Angeles. One team that will have a lot of eyes on them is the Dallas Stars, who appear to be in the business of listening on players, and if you have the right pieces, something could get done.
Dallas began shedding salary on Thursday when they sent left-shot forward Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken for a third-round pick in 2026 and a fourth-round pick in 2025. Marchment has one year remaining on his current deal with an AAV of $4.5 million. This is a good move for the Kraken, who add some scoring to their lineup next season, and it frees up cap space for the Stars, but looking at the return and the needs the Boston Bruins have, this is a move that general manager Don Sweeney could have pulled off.
Bruins will regret not striking on Dallas forward Mason Marchment
The Bruins have a lot of needs this offseason, and just how Sweeney goes about trying to address some of them remains to be seen. A trade is certainly one way that he could address a need, and aside from a center and another defenseman, preferably a right-shot, a goal-scoring winger would be a nice addition.
Marchment would have fit that bill for the Black and Gold. He is coming off two years in a row where he scored 22 goals and would have been a nice middle-six fit for Boston and new coach Marco Sturm. The Bruins do have a handful of left-shot wingers, but right now, Sweeney is in a position where beggars can't be choosier in terms of adding scoring after his team struggled in that department last season.
At Sturm's introductory press conference last week, Sweeney made it known that draft capital is in play when it comes to potential moves to be made ahead of the draft if it makes the Bruins a better team. There is no doubt that he could have done this deal with what Seattle gave up, and there is plenty of salary cap room to fit Marchment in there. This could end up being a move that Sweeney may regret not trying to pull off.
