But with Horton going the other way our salary for is less by about 2 million. Also, we get younger and increase our depth on D by a bunch thus leading to possible future trades. To me it would be worth it. The unseen bonus is that we don't have to worry about Horton's health.
Not sure I understand the logic.
1. Horton is a UFA after this season and you can opt out of keeping and paying for him in a few short months if that's what you want.
2. The Bruins don't have a salary cap problem this season (and probably not next) and there's no compulsion to deal Horton or anybody to get cap room or whatever.
3. Not sure you could get something to increase D depth "by a bunch" for Horton before the trade deadline. He would be a pure rental as an upcoming UFA. He has the concussion questions. There would not be a lot of time for him to re-establish premium trade value. And even if you found a good return on Defense, you are robbing Peter to pay Paul, by diminishing the offense, which has not been a juggernaut when he is not in the lineup.
4. Most importantly, this was a Cup winning team only 2 seasons ago. There quick exit last year was largely due to Cup hangover and, yes, injuries such as to Horton. With this short season and the mad scramble, I really like the idea of throwing most of the Cup winning lineup back into it and see if you can do it again. Horton may not have yet solidified a rep as true 1st line all-star, but he is an important part of the Bruins makeup. He's worth a lot more to us than he is as a trade chip IMO.
Not sure you are going to find a lot of interesting trades to make in the short-term. Teams will be thrilled to get back at it and see what happens in this odd-ball season. I just don't see the Bruins being able to make any interesting deals beyond adding a depth veteran before the end of this season. And since there's no need to dump Horton, why?
