Rumors have been swirling about San Jose Sharks defenseman Dan Boyle. If the Sharks do move him before the April 3 trade deadline where could he go?
San Jose after the first two weeks of the season was on a tear and looked poised to make another playoff run. Now they currently sit in ninth in the Western Conference.
If San Jose moves him, the two biggest suitors seem to be on the east coast. Also, they happen to be bitter division rivals, the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers.
New York seems like a more likely landing spot for Boyle than Philadelphia does. The Rangers are currently sitting $1.9 million under the cap and are the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference. Adding Boyle would give their defense a strong veteran presence and also someone on the blue line that has won a Stanley Cup.
Philadelphia would be foolish to pursue Boyle. They are toward the bottom of the conference in 13th and have a very slim chance of making the playoffs. Also, they are over the salary cap and will probably need to buy players this summer just to get under. This isn’t a rent-a-player, Boyle is still owed $6,666,667 next season as well. Lastly, they have a veteran leader already on defense named Kimmo Timonen.
If the next week goes well for the Rangers look for them to try to get Boyle to Broadway.
John is an Assistant Editor and NHL Senior Writer for The Inscriber Digital Magazine. Follow him on Twitter @JohnnyMacNHL and e-mail him at JohnnyMachurek@TheInscriber.com