The Boston Bruins’ inability to generate offensive production across the board was a major weakness that ultimately contributed to their elimination in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha, the team’s centers, performed better than expected throughout the regular season but fell short of expectations in the postseason. Although they both had their moments, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak’s performances weren’t quite constant. Although Jake DeBrusk, a 27-year-old winger, is an unrestricted free agent and the Bruins do not appear to be bending on contract offers, he was maybe Boston’s finest player. The squad needs to score some points, ideally from the center position, but there doesn’t seem to be much of that available. Alternatively, Boston may need to boost wing production.
Forward Tyler Toffoli has been linked to Boston in past trade and free-agent talks over the years. The 32-year-old forward has always been a goal scorer and does not seem to be slowing down after collecting 33 goals and 22 assists in 79 games splitting time with the New Jersey Devils and Winnipeg Jets this season. With the Jets, Toffoli scored seven goals in 18 games and two goals in the playoffs. The 6-foot, 205-pound right wing has played center in the past, although he has taken a minimal amount of faceoffs in his career. Boston would be Toffoli’s seventh NHL team in his 12-year career.
Toffoli, who recently wrapped up a four-year, $17 million contract, has scored at least thirty goals in each of the previous three seasons. The product of Scarborough, Ontario, also won a Stanley Cup in 2014 while playing with the Los Angeles Kings, tallying seven goals in the process. The number of even strength points he gains is one of his games’ advantages. Toffoli scored 37 5-on-5 points this season.
Many teams should be in on Tyler Toffoli as his new contract should be reasonable in value and term. Toffoli would provide Boston with a good bottom-six option at right wing and help take some of the pressure off of Pastrnak on the score sheet. If Boston is looking for a shorter-term alternative to Jake DeBrusk, then Toffoli could be a good find for them.
