Trade Pitch has Bruins Dealing $24 Million Star Defenseman in 4-Player Blockbuster
he Boston Bruins will likely be sellers ahead of the trade deadline and star defenseman Brandon Carlo could be moved.
The website PuckPedia’s PuckGM tool lets users create their own trades. One user proposed a deal that would see the Bruins dealing Carlo to the Dallas Stars.
Stars acquire:
- Brandon Carlo
Bruins acquire:
- Mavrik Bourque
- Matt Dumba
- Aram Minnetian (signing rights)
- 2026 first-round pick
- 2026 fifth-round pick
The proposed deal would be a blockbuster as Dallas would acquire Carlo to bolster its blue line for two draft picks, a young NHL forward, an NHL defenseman, and a prospect.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70951911/1153537916.0.jpg)
Dallas would acquire Carlo who’s in the fourth year of a six-year $24.6 million deal. He would be a top-four defenseman in the Stars and make Dallas a much better and deeper team. This season, Carlo has recorded 1 goal and 8 assists for 9 points, but he has been a solid shutdown defenseman.
In return, Boston would acquire a 2026 first and fifth, and Bourque would be a key part of the return. Bourque was selected 30th overall in the 2020 NHL draft but has primarily been playing in the AHL. He would immediately play on Boston’s roster and add some youth to the lineup.
The Bruins would also acquire Dumba who would replace Carlo on the blue line. He’s in the first year of a two-year $7.5 million deal. He’s recorded 0 goals and 5 assists this season.
The final part of the deal for Boston would be the signing rights of Minnetian. He was a fourth-round pick in 2023 and is playing at Boston College.
Bruins Leaning Towards Keeping Carlo
With Boston outside of a playoff spot, the Bruins are likely to be sellers ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
If Boston does decide to sell, Carlo would likely get the Bruins their biggest return. However, according to Daily Faceoff’s Anthony Di Marco, Boston is unlikely to trade the star defenseman.
“While there has been interest and discussions, it sounds like the Bruins are leaning towards keeping defenseman Brandon Carlo,” Di Marco wrote on X.
Carlo has a modified no-trade clause, which requires him to submit a 10-team no-trade list so he does have some say if he were to be traded.
Boston selected Carlo in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft. He’s spent his entire career with the Bruins recording 29 goals and 80 assists for 109 points in 616 career games.
Stars Looking to Add Before Deadline
Dallas made a move before the 4 Nations to acquire forward Mikael Granlund and defenseman Cody Ceci, but the Stars may not be done.
Ahead of the deadline, Stars general manager Jim Nill spoke to NHL.com and said he’s looking at ways to improve the team.
“I thought we had to get ahead of things,” Nill said. “In reality, we couldn’t wait. Because of our injuries, we had to move fast. There’s a risk in doing it that way because maybe it takes us out of contention for a remaining big deal approaching the Deadline. Does it mean maybe there’s another deal I can’t get into now? We’re still looking. We’re still interested if there’s a good fit, but we needed to do something at the time.”
A possible move is adding a defenseman, Nill said.
“You can never have enough defensemen,” he said. “So, when we look at some of that, we’ll see what’s on the market. That’s probably the biggest obstacle right now is what’s available until we get a full feel for what’s out there.”
The Stars are 40-19-2 and in second place in the Central Division.
