NHL Trade Deadline Cap Space - Bruins big advantage

It's fair to say that the Eastern Conference playoff teams are already set, we will likely see a shake up of positioning, but barring a significant change the 8 teams are all but locked.

Unlike the other teams in the Eastern Conference the Bruins have all of their draft picks and are in a position to add assets if they'd like, but that's not the approach I'd recommend the organization take.

So what should the Bruins do? Well first let's take a look at the available cap space for every team in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

$35,300,000 - New York Rangers
$8,300,000 - Boston Bruins
$4,000,000 - Pittsburgh Penguins
$3,900,000 - Florida Panthers
$1,800,000 - Carolina Hurricanes
$1,300,000 - Washington Capitals
$200,000 - Toronto Maple Leafs
$0 - Tampa Bay Lightning

The Bruins and Rangers clearly have an advantage when it comes to cap space, but I believe there is a definite strategy the Bruins should be using here. It's simple, don't expend assets because it's hard to believe that this team will be capable of winning the Cup especially with it appearing the Atlantic will go through both Florida and Tampa Bay.

So best case scenario?

The Bruins should weaponize their cap space to help Western Conference teams make trades to improve their chances of winning the Stanley Cup. This will help the Bruins acquire more draft pick assets, by retaining salary. This will also help facilitate deals that weaken the Eastern Conference by keeping strong assets in the Western Conference, which ultimately makes the Bruins route to a Cup easier if things come together at the right time.

This is the best case scenario for the Bruins to increase their chances in the Eastern Conference while also working to begin re-tooling their roster.