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Report: Bruins ‘quietly’ gauging trade market for Chara, Marchand and others

Cory Conacher, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara

Cory Conacher, Brad Marchand, Zdeno Chara

AP

It didn’t take long for the Boston Bruins trade speculation to begin.

From CSNNE’s Joe Haggerty:

According to separate hockey sources, there has been some level of recent trade discussion about veterans Zdeno Chara and Brad Marchand with other teams around the league, just to name a few B’s players. The talks haven’t been substantial but more exploratory in nature, as the team quietly gauges the market value of higher-priced veterans who may not fit in the long-term picture if the decision is made to tear down the current roster.

Chara, 38, is signed through 2017-18 for a cap hit of almost $7 million. Given his age, if the Bruins aren’t going to be contenders for the next few years, it may make sense to try and trade him.

Marchand, 27, is signed though 2016-17 for a cap hit of $4.5 million. He’ll be approaching 30 when his contract is up, and probably won’t be cheap to re-sign as an unrestricted free agent.

Of course, all this trade speculation assumes the Bruins don’t turn things around. It’s possible Chara will return to the lineup this afternoon at home versus Tampa Bay. If not, he’ll be back soon.

Marchand is out with a concussion, his return date unknown.

The B’s remain winless after two games, losing to the Jets and Canadiens by a combined score of 10-4. After today’s game, they play five of their next seven on the road.

“We just need to focus on getting better as a team, and there’s a lot of work to be done,” said coach Claude Julien. “We need everybody right now. There are a lot of people we need to get more of if we’re going to battle out of this. This is where we need players to step up.”