Bruins Should Trade For Flames Defender
The Vancouver Canucks got the last Calgary Flames defenseman - Nikita Zadorov - so the Boston Bruins should pursue another one.
Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports - Bruins Should Trade For Flames DefenderNoah Hanifin has been pursued by Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney in the past, and he would come with several benefits. He deserves his reputation as a quick and powerful defenseman who can go the extra mile - literally, because of his incredible skating distance of 165.63 metres, in the league's 97th percentile.
He becomes a UFA this year after a six-year, $29.7M contract with the Flames ended.
The 2015 draft veteran has a hard shot, firing at an average of 66.46 mph, which is in the 94th percentile in the league.
He is a considerably fast and agile skater, above average on the 18-20 mph bursts. At times, he can explode to 22 mph or more, and has done so on four occasions this season, which puts him among the NHLs best.
A two-way defenseman, he has been in the offensive zone more lately, and racking up 17 assists this season to help give chances to the forwards. He has also scored eight goals this season.
He also has a strong head, as he once used his head to block a shot, diving in front of it.
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The Bruins have said they wanted to increase their offense ahead of the trade deadline to improve their chance of making it far in the playoffs. Hanifin would be an extra dribble of offense and defense.
He is an incredible shot-taker for a defenseman, at a whopping 91 shots on goal compared to the average for a D being 43.
Unfortunately, he is not the most accurate, at only 8.8 per cent of those shots going to the back of the net. But for a defenseman, he is still above average (average being 4.4 per cent).
Another problem is the Bruins' tight cap space at $862,500. Hanifin is an expensive player at a $4.950M cap hit and an eight-team no trade clause.
But if the Bruins sort out finances well before the trade deadline, it may be worth acquiring him for his great defense, skating ability, and offensive potential.
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