By: Neil Simmons | Follow me on Twitter / X: @NSimmz
A year ago, the Boston Bruins entered the offseason with the goal of just finding their footing and playing meaningful games in March. Now, after exceeding those expectations and returning to the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Bruins know they must keep improving to close the gap with the true contenders in the Eastern Conference, and especially within their own division. But there’s just one problem – where do they find those improvements?
The rising salary cap, up to $104 million this coming year, has allowed teams league-wide to retain their talent, leaving the free agent market thinner than ever. Few options exist for immediate upgrades at key positions the Bruins badly need, especially down the middle and on right-shot defense. Those that are hitting the market will surely have plenty of leverage to command massive contracts. Boston will have $15m of cap space this summer, enough to make meaningful improvements, but committing most of it to a single free agent won’t leave enough flexibility elsewhere.
There are other avenues available to Don Sweeney and the Bruins front office. Offer sheets, trades, and internal development, some of which my colleagues and I explored last week. One trade in particular from the piece, acquiring the Anaheim Ducks duo of Mason McTavish and Olen Zellweger, has become a popular thread with Bruins fans, due to their age, positions, and Anaheim’s previous trade history with Boston.
However, there’s another pair much closer to TD Garden that could be available this summer for trade, and acquiring them could turn the Bruins into legitimate Cup contenders overnight: Simon Nemec and Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils.
Right off the bat, Nemec is the far more plausible trade target. The 22-year-old right-shot defenseman is due a contract this summer as an expiring Restricted Free Agent. Drafted second overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, the young Slovak has played 153 games with the Devils and has been the subject of trade rumors throughout the past season. Former General Manager Tom Fitzgerald shopped him more than once, and now Sunny Mehta has to decide whether to extend him or give him a fresh start elsewhere and recoup some assets. The latest rumor from last week about a trade request, though quickly refuted, has only fueled speculation that he may be on the move.
Acquiring Hischier would, admittedly, be a bit of a stretch. The first overall pick of the 2017 Draft has been with the Devils for the entirety of his 609-game career and has served as their team captain for the past six seasons. His brand of two-way hockey is everything the Bruins have been missing since Patrice Bergeron retired; at least 60 points each of the last five seasons with a career high 31-49-80, 54% or better at the dot, impactful on both sides of special teams, and he even finished second in Selke Trophy voting behind Bergeron in 2023. Heading into a contract year, his name has also been rumored as a possible trade target should the Devils be unable to extend him.
With all this in mind, let’s address the elephant in the room. Neither of these players would come cheap on their own, let alone together. A move as bold as this would immediately plug two of the biggest holes in the Bruins’ lineup, giving them a true top-line center, as well as reinforcing their right-side defense with youth and top-pair potential. But at the same time, both players would be due new contracts, and the asking price from New Jersey would be uncomfortably steep.
What would it take to get Sunny Mehta to pick up the phone, or rather stay on the phone after he’s told James Hagens is untouchable? Top picks, and several of them. Boston’s first round pick from this coming draft, 23rd overall, and Toronto’s 2028 unprotected first, for starters. If Hagens is off the table, then Dean Letourneau has to be involved as a centerpiece, with Mason Lohrei and Casey Mittelstadt rounding out the package to fill New Jersey’s immediate lineup needs:
To BOS: Nico Hischier (extended 8x$10.5m AAV) & Simon Nemec (extended 3x$5m AAV)
To NJD: BOS 2026 1st (23rd overall), TOR 2028 1st, Dean Letourneau (25th overall, 2024), Mason Lohrei, & Casey Mittelstadt
While this package appears straightforward, the real devil is in the details: getting both New Jersey players on board in negotiations. Hischier’s current deal carries a no-movement clause, so Boston would need to get him to waive it before anything could happen. Convincing a franchise player and captain to leave the only team he’s ever played for is no small ask, but if Hischier agreed to waive, a max-term contract extension would come as part of the deal.
Since Nemec’s contract is about to expire, the Devils still own his rights, and he would need an extension as part of a trade. A bridge deal could offer a short-term salary bump, with the opportunity for a larger deal in his age-25 season, typically the benchmark for NHL defensemen development. While both proposed extensions represent sizable discounts, Sweeney has a proven track record of negotiating team-friendly deals that never exceed their top player, in this case, David Pastrnak’s $11.25m AAV serving as a soft cap.
While Bruins fans would gladly sign off on this proposal, it’s hard to imagine the feeling would be mutual. The counterargument for New Jersey is that this deal doesn’t make sense for the current state of their team, and the assets they’d receive don’t match the value they would be trading away. While Hischier and Nemec are on expiring or soon-to-be-expiring contracts, Lohrei and Mittelstadt also have only a year left. Why would the Devils put themselves back in the same situation, but with lesser players?
New Jersey is looking to stabilize its play after alternating years of being in and out of the playoffs. Moving Hischier, a cornerstone piece, would effectively wave the white flag for a rebuild, just as Jack Hughes enters his prime. As it stands, the Devils will enter the offseason with $10.9m of cap space. They have the money to extend Hischier; the only way he leaves is if he chooses not to re-sign or picks his destination. Nemec depends on how much he asks for and could find himself on the move if he prices himself out.
On the surface, swinging a package deal for Hischier and Nemec would be a bold, yet no-brainer move for the Bruins. But as enticing as it sounds, it’s doubly as unlikely. Hischier’s no-move clause, as well as New Jersey’s front office, could stop it dead in its tracks. Nemec, on his own, would be a different story. Anaheim has been the more popular package to address both areas of need, but if Hischier ever wants to make a move, Boston should be the first team on the phone.
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