{"id":469229,"date":"2026-02-24T06:32:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:32:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469229\/"},"modified":"2026-02-24T06:32:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T06:32:08","slug":"bruins-linked-to-right-handed-defenseman-more-potential-trade-targets","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/469229\/","title":{"rendered":"Bruins Linked to Right-Handed Defenseman; More Potential Trade Targets"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Bruins have been no strangers to the rumor mill, and the latest report reinforces their pursuit of a move to bolster the right side of defense<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In January, they lost out on the Rasmus Andersson sweepstakes<\/a>. Since then, they have been linked to Blues defenseman Justin Faulk. On Monday, Anthony DiMarco of Daily Faceoff<\/a> reports that the Bruins have also checked in on Philadelphia<\/a>\u2019s Rasmus Ristolainen<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Bruins Reportedly Linked to Justin Faulk: Should They Pursue?<\/a><\/p>\n

After this season, Ristolainen has one year left on his contract. He carries a cap hit of $5.1 million.<\/p>\n

Di Marco added that he \u201cgot the sense that Ristolainen wasn\u2019t someone the Bruins are especially high on, though they are \u2018checking in on everyone\u2019 at this stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ristolainen, 30, has a goal and five assists in 19 games with the Flyers this season. The 6-foot-4 defenseman was with Team Finland at the Milan-Cortina games, where he posted three assists and a team-leading plus-9. He played the third-most minutes out of any player on the Finnish roster.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, Ristolainen has dealt with injury issues since joining the Flyers; he has not played a full 82-game season with the team. He missed the first 31 games of the season due to a triceps injury<\/a> suffered in March 2025. Since returning, he has missed more games<\/a> due to an upper-body injury.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He missed 51 games in 2023-24.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, when he is healthy, he has shown he can handle heavy minutes \u2013 something he demonstrated during Finland\u2019s bronze medal run.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The asking price is steep, much like the Blues\u2019 asking price for Justin Faulk. The return the Flyers are looking for is similar to the one Don Sweeney pulled from Toronto in the Brandon Carlo trade<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins acquired Fraser Minten<\/a>, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2025 fourth-round pick (Vashek Blan\u00e1r<\/a>) at last year\u2019s deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE: What Could the Bruins Get for Their Trade Chips?<\/a><\/p>\n

They are \u201cchecking in on everyone,\u201d so who else could the Bruins look at as the deadline approaches?<\/p>\n

MACKENZIE WEEGAR, CALGARY<\/p>\n

Don Sweeney has engaged in trade talks with Flames GM Craig Conroy already this season. The two were close on a trade for now-Golden Knight Rasmus Andersson<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Di Marco\u2019s report, he mentioned that teams are calling on MacKenzie Weegar<\/a>. Weegar, 32, is in the third year of an eight-year deal<\/a> that expires in 2031. It comes with a $6.125 million salary cap hit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weegar has to approve any trade involving him, though; he has a no-trade clause. According to Di Marco, the clause has made the trade process more complicated.<\/p>\n

Darren Dreger<\/a> added that it is not 100% that the Flames move Weegar, but they are going to listen. He listed the Senators and Red Wings as two teams that will be in pursuit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins have not been linked to the 6-foot-tall defenseman, but he fits the criteria for what they are looking for.<\/p>\n

This season, he has three goals and 20 points, and his 127 hits lead Flames\u2019 defensemen this season. He has blocked 129 shots, which leads the Flames and is tied for fifth in the NHL.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He is also a minus-32, which is a league low.<\/p>\n

Charlie McAvoy<\/a>, Hampus Lindholm<\/a>, and Nikita Zadorov<\/a> are all signed until 2030. Bringing in Weegar would lock in the Bruins\u2019 top four for the next four seasons.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Zadorov and Weegar played together during Zadorov\u2019s time in Calgary. In the 2022-23 season, they played for 452:45 together at 5-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

ZACH WHITECLOUD, CALGARY<\/p>\n

In the Rasmus Andersson trade<\/a>, the Calgary Flames acquired 29-year-old right-handed defenseman Zach Whitecloud<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Immediately, speculation surfaced about whether the Flames would flip their newly acquired defenseman.<\/p>\n

He is under contract until the summer of 2028, and he carries a team-friendly cap hit of $2.75 million. Per PuckPedia<\/a>, the Bruins are expected to have just over $5 million in cap space at the trade deadline.\u00a0<\/p>\n

With the Golden Knights, Whitecloud had seven points in 47 games. He blocked 63 shots and landed 73 hits. Since joining the Flames, he has three assists in eight games. In those eight games, he has a team-leading 13 hits and has blocked 13 shots.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen<\/a> reported that the Senators have likely kicked tires on Whitecloud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of the Andersson trade, Elliotte Friedman suggested the Flames call Don Sweeney and pitch Whitecloud to the Bruins GM. He added that he did not hear anything and was just \u201cspitballing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cZach Whitecloud, he looks like a Bruin,\u201d Friedman said<\/a>.<\/p>\n

He plays top-four minutes for the Flames, while also killing penalties<\/a> on their top unit. He did the same when playing in Vegas.<\/p>\n

BRADEN SCHNEIDER, NY RANGERS<\/p>\n

The New York Rangers<\/a> released a statement<\/a> in January announcing that the team is entering a retool.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Since then, they have traded Carson Soucy<\/a> to the Islanders and Artemi Panarin<\/a> to the Kings. Vincent Trocheck has landed in trade rumors<\/a>, and so has Braden Schneider<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Schneider is not having his best year, nor are the Rangers. After posting a career-high 21 points (6-15\u201321) last year, he is at 11 (2-9\u201311) through 57 games. He is also a minus-15. Last year, he led Rangers defensemen in hits with 146; this year, he still holds the lead with 123. He has blocked 90 shots this season.<\/p>\n

Schneider is 24 and is in the last year of a two-year contract<\/a> with a $2.2 million cap hit. He will be a restricted free agent this summer, and he is eligible for arbitration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This season is Schneider\u2019s fifth in the NHL, all with the Rangers, and he has played in 343 games.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Bruins could use this trade deadline to bolster the right side<\/a> with a younger defenseman. The Bruins have two right-handed defensemen younger than 24; one is with the Providence Bruins, and one is in college.\u00a0<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Assessing the Bruins\u2019 Right-Shot Defensive Depth<\/a><\/p>\n

But the Bruins are not the only team looking for a right-shot defenseman. Bruce Garrioch\u2019s report also stated that aside from the Senators, \u201cThe Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, San Jose Sharks, Dallas Stars, and Utah Mammoth are all in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trade deadline is March 6, and with the roster freeze lifted, the clock is ticking.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Bruins have been no strangers to the rumor mill, and the latest report reinforces their pursuit of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":469230,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5111],"tags":[95,5169,58,5,2339,3328,35,5190,5193,4,548,36,4526,3708],"class_list":{"0":"post-469229","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york-rangers","8":"tag-boston-bruins","9":"tag-braden-schneider","10":"tag-featured","11":"tag-hockey","12":"tag-mackenzie-weegar","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-rangers","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkrangers","17":"tag-nhl","18":"tag-nhl-trade-deadline","19":"tag-rangers","20":"tag-rasmus-ristolainen","21":"tag-zach-whitecloud"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116124211306227212","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=469229"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/469229\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/469230"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=469229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=469229"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=469229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}