The Boston Bruins needed to do something to get Marc Savard back into the lineup, and according to general manager Peter Chiarelli, Monday night's trade of defenseman Matt Hunwick will do the trick. Hunwick was sent packing to the Colorado Avalanche for rookie defenseman Colby Cohen.
Bruins Begin To Clear Cap Space, Trade Matt Hunwick To Colorado For
Cohen, 21, had played in three games for the Avalanche this season. Hunwick, meanwhile, was a mainstay on the Boston blueline. They’ve cleared his $1.45 million cap hit, but his departure also leaves a hole on defense for the B’s.
Adam McQuaid will step in to the 6th defenseman role and the B's will not carry an extra defenseman. While McQuaid is a serviceable defenseman, his puck-moving abilities do not match Hunwick's skill set. However, Peter Chiarelli addressed their continued search for the elusive puck-moving defrenseman that is in short supply by saying "we will continue to look for that type of defenseman".
In Colorado, there are a lot of questions on why exactly this move was made. Here’s what our Avs blog, Mile High Hockey, had to say about the trade.
The Avalanche now have 9 NHL defensemen on their roster and only 1 - Kevin Shattenkirk - can be sent to Lake Erie without clearing waivers. Kyle Cumiskey remains out for the foreseeable future with a concussion, but Adam Foote is expected back soon. When that happens, who plays and who sits? I can't even begin to sort that one out.
It's been postulated that the Avalanche are maneuvering to move a defenseman between now and the deadline for a forward. This makes some sense...but why not just make that move now? Injuries and Kyle Brodziak's thick skull have depleted the Avs' depth at forward. Perhaps this move will become clearer in the coming weeks (we scratched our head at the Ryan O'Byrne trade as well). For now, though, this trade just seems...odd.
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