Boston added a versatile forward, but it paid a stiff price to Minnesota. We grade both general managers on the deal.
Bruins get: C/W Charlie Coyle
Wild get: C/W Ryan Donato, 2019 fifth-round pick
Boston Bruins: C
We knew that GM Don Sweeney and the Bruins had a desire to add scoring. Their 5-on-5 numbers after David Pastrnak's injury was announced were brutal (Boston has scored eight even-strength goals over the past two games, so perhaps things were beginning to trend up).
We also knew that Boston felt its gamble at last year's deadline -- to acquire Rick Nash for a first-round pick, two forwards, a defensive prospect and a seventh-round pick -- wasn't worth it. Nash had five points in 12 postseason games in 2018, and the Bruins couldn't get past the second round.
So they were wary of getting another rental. They wanted a hockey deal. Coyle is 26 and has one year remaining on his contract with a cap hit of $3.2 million. This trade makes sense in that regard. Coyle can play center or wing and offers flexibility -- he can plug in right away on Boston's second or third lines. Coyle has regressed production-wise since a 56-point campaign in 2016-17, but it might be a confidence issue. A change of scenery might revive him.
There's inherent risk here for Boston, though -- and that's not about taking on Coyle. Rather, it's if they gave up on Donato too soon. Donato can score (remember, as one of four college students on the 2018 U.S. Olympic roster, he led Team USA in scoring with five goals in five games). No, he had not been able to stick on Boston's roster since signing out of Harvard -- he appeared in three postseason games and spent this season bouncing between the AHL and NHL -- but he's only 22. There's time. His value should be a lot more than what this trade suggests.
Minnesota Wild: B+
Wild GM Paul Fenton has been patient since taking over the role this past summer. He's been assessing his roster -- and it is a playoff-ready roster that he inherited -- wondering how he can get his players to the next level. But the team has stunk over the past three weeks (they have just one win in 10 February games) and something needed to be done.
Coyle has been the subject of trade rumors over the past two seasons, dating to the Chuck Fletcher regime. He's a rugged forward with a good two-way game capable of 20-goal, 50-point seasons, but he has endured long dry spells production-wise. That includes the past 10 games, in which he has registered just two points.
It felt inevitable that he and the Wild would part eventually, and the return here seems far more favorable than Fenton's first deal as GM. (The one-for-one swap of Nino Niederreiter for Victor Rask, on first returns, hasn't been a win for Minnesota.)
In this case, the Wild got rid of a player they seemed to be giving up on anyway, and they pounced on the Bruins selling low on Donato, which is smart. Donato is an offensive talent with a propensity for getting shots on net (he has generated 75 shots in his 34 NHL games this season, though has produced only six goals). Donato has a better chance to thrive in Minnesota, and he should get a chance right away in the middle six as the Wild look to get out of their funk.