Mark Burke -

The Bruins are in the market for an upgrade on their top line, and through the misfortunes of one team in particular, the Black and Gold may have the fix to their needs.

For those of you not up to date on the struggles of the Edmonton Oilers out West, just know this much: they are bad. Really bad. Time-to-clean-house-and-restart (again) kind of bad, even just two weeks into the season. The team is young, they’re inexperienced, they don’t have a shred of stability in any part of their lineup, and the whispers of trade talks have evolved into shouting from the mountain tops in just a few days’ time: the Oilers are on the verge of imploding, and the team is ready and willing to deal off pieces.

According to CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty, the Bruins and Oilers could swing a deal that sends forward Jordan Eberle to Boston in exchange for center Chris Kelly, Matt Bartkowski and a package of draft picks. Haggerty writes:

…Eberle…is exactly the kind of player the Bruins are seeking to answer their right wing questions along the top line…With $3.759 million in cap space, the Bruins would easily be able to absorb Eberle’s cap hit by including Kelly and Matt Bartkowski in the deal, along with the draft pick and prospect package expected to land Edmonton’s big fish. The Oilers need another center with 2014 first round pick Leon Draisaitl looking like he’s not ready for NHL prime time this season, and Kelly would bring the leadership, stability and defensive mentality that’s still sorely lacking on an incomplete Oil roster. The Bruins also have Ryan Spooner and Alex Khokhlachev in the pipeline as center prospects that are knocking on the NHL door, and could be in a much better professional situation for opportunity in Edmonton as opposed to a packed Boston roster.

Now, to connect the dots, the Oil and B’s were engaged in trade talks over the summer for the services of defenseman Johnny Boychuk. The word on the street was a Boychuk for Nail Yakupov swap to cure the ailments of both teams (a steady, defensive force for Edmonton, a goal-scoring talent for Boston).

But as we know, GM Peter Chiarelli dealt Boychuk to the New York Islanders a few days before the season started. Edmonton got nothing, and they have to be kicking themselves as they see what Boychuk has brought to the Islanders.

The pavement for trade talks has already been laid down from Causeway St. to Rexall Place. And it seems the Bruins could be in the market for a big trade in the near future to wipe out the sour taste in their mouths left from the Boychuk trade.

Where there's smoke there's fire, and Haggerty isn't simply pulling Eberle's name out of the air when it comes to targeting a first-line talent the Bruins desperately need playing next to David Krejci. And this isn't the first time Haggerty has named Eberle as a potential trade target for the Bruins.

What do you think of the report from CSNNE, Bruins fans? Do you want the Bruins to pull off a trade for Jordan Eberle in exchange for roster players and a package of draft picks?

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