The Boston Bruins will be an interesting team to follow to start the 2025-26 season.
Will the longtime lock to make the playoffs prove that last year was an outlier, or was it the sign of a downfall and changing of the guard in the Atlantic Division?
Boston is certainly hoping for the former to be true and that their Bruins get back to the postseason after retooling at last year’s deadline and into the summer.
How the first half of the season goes will be telling and will determine whether Don Sweeney looks to sell off more veterans at next year’s trade deadline.
One name that’s already been out there is Pavel Zacha, and Michael DeRosa of Heavy Sports is pitching that the Calgary Flames get proactive and make a bold move to acquire him in a trade. The deal would send prospect Henry Mews and a first-round pick in 2026 back to Boston.
Flames receive: Pavel Zacha
Bruins receive: Henry Mews, 2026 first-round pick
“Zacha has been the subject of trade speculation for quite some time now. With the Bruins out of the playoff race at the 2025 NHL trade deadline, Zacha was one of the players who generated interest. While he ended up staying put, trade rumors surrounding Zacha have only continued since the start of the offseason,” DeRosa said.
“With Zacha being one of the Bruins’ top forwards and having a good contract, a first-round pick would likely need to be the starting point in any deal. The Flames could send the 2026 first-round pick they received from Vegas to Boston for Zacha. With Mews, the Bruins would be landing a promising prospect defenseman. The 19-year-old just had a strong season in the OHL, recording 14 goals and 82 points in 68 games. With the Bruins needing help on the right side of their defense, Mews certainly could grab their attention,” DeRosa added.
The 28-year-old Zacha will be entering the third season of the four-year, $19 million extension he signed with the Bruins in 2023.
Calgary has been linked to Zacha
While the Boston Bruins remain hesitant to move on from Pavel Zacha at this point in time, the Calgary Flames have already been one of the teams to kick tires on acquiring his services.
Jimmy Murphy of RG Media reported last week that both the Flames and Montreal Canadiens had made inquiries about the skilled forward.
He mentioned that Sweeney and the Bruins aren’t shopping Zacha, though another poor start to a season could certainly change their stance in Boston, and if that’s the case, we should keep our eyes on Calgary to land him.
