5 players the Boston Bruins could trade for by the deadline

2. LW Ilya Kovalchuk

As previously mentioned, a rejuvenated Ilya Kovalchuk will likely find himself on the move once again this season. If he is indeed traded, it will be the third franchise he will have played for this season.

The one-time prolific scorer returned to the NHL after a five-year absence to play in the KHL. The future Hall of Famer left the league at a time when he was recording a point per game. The Los Angeles Kings buried Kovalchuk on the team’s fourth line last season, and it was much of the same earlier this season.

He would eventually be bought out by the Kings after regularly finding himself as a healthy scratch in 18 consecutive games. Kovalchuk failed to make it through half of his three-year, $18.75 million deal. The contract was also much too rich to trade for a scorer that was unable to find himself on the ice.

Due to an NHL/KHL agreement, he was unable to return to the KHL this season, forcing his hand to hope for work for the remainder of this season in the NHL. Work he found, as he’s been a pleasant surprise for the Montreal Canadiens who were stricken with injury and signed Kovalchuk to a one-year, $700,000 deal.

He’s been dynamic for the Canadiens in both overtime and the shootout, having scored three game-winning goals for Montreal in just 16 games. He appears to be having fun again. During his time in Los Angeles, he seemed to be gripping the stick a bit too tight and trying to force a play or a shot much too often. It looks like he’s found his love for the game again with Montreal.

When Montreal signed Kovalchuk, it was a move that carried no risk whatsoever. His deal makes it a no-brainer. If he didn’t pan out, he costs the organization next to nothing. If he were able to produce the way he’s shown, he would serve as a perfect rental for a playoff team, in turn, landing the Canadiens some future assets.

Kovalchuk, despite having a tremendous career, hasn’t won a Stanley Cup. It’s the main reason he decided to return to the greatest league in the world. The soon to be 37-year-old sniper would be a perfect addition for the Boston Bruins.

He’d slide right in as a top-six forward, where he belongs, as Kovalchuk needs to play with skilled players to be effective. Kovalchuk has proven not to be valuable playing on a team’s fourth line with grinding type players. Similar to Toffoli, he’d fit nicely alongside DeBrusk and Krejci. His 13.6 shooting percentage with Montreal, a significant improvement over the 8.6 percent with the Kings, is the highest it’s been since his Atlanta Thrasher days.

In 16 games with Montreal, he’s achieved six goals totaling 12 points. Overall this season, he’s played 33 games, scoring nine times and adding 12 assists. He’s produced an exceptional Corsi For percentage of 53.2 percent on the season as well.