The Daily Goal Horn

Trade wires hum as Bruins and Oilers circle Flyers assets ahead of the deadline frenzy. GMs dish on Trocheck's rising value and Bobrovsky's name floating in quiet calls from contenders. With Olympic hangovers fading, these links could ignite a seller's market or fizzle fast.

Charlie McAvoy returns from Olympic duty with news that has Boston's brass breathing easier amid a tight standings race. The Bruins count on his blue-line bite to steady the ship post-international break, especially with rivals lurking. Front offices whisper this could shift their deadline calculus if McAvoy hits stride right away.

USA Hockey surges as the dominant force, flipping the script on international rivals who've long owned the spotlight. NHL scouts nod knowingly - American talent pipelines pump elite players into the league like never before. This shift ripples through rosters and rivalries, redefining power structures from locker rooms to boardrooms.

The Bruins hit the ice at Warrior Arena treating it like training camp, but chaos erupted with whispers flying about when gold medal heroes Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman lace up for Boston. McAvoy's epic third-period block on Tom Wilson behind Connor Hellebuyck sealed USA's overtime thriller over Canada, while Swayman notched his lone start as the third netminder.

The Boston Bruins emerge from the Olympic break clinging to the final Eastern Conference wild card spot, and whispers from the Globe's Kevin Paul Dupont point to a reunion with former forward Ryan Donato as they weigh buying or selling before the deadline. Donato, now 29 and bulked up from his Harvard days, exploded for 31 goals last season with Chicago before a slower start this year, but his speed and fit in Marco Sturm's system make him a tempting top-six piece.

The Bruins sit in that familiar trade deadline hot seat, chasing a spark up front as whispers from NHL writers point to a reunion with a former forward who knows the Garden's roar all too well. Boston's front office has the cap space and the assets after a quiet Olympic break, but they move fast when Don Sweeney smells blood in the water.

NHL players grind through a brutal compressed schedule around the Olympics, and these seven workouts keep them explosive without breaking down. Veterans know the drill - hydrotherapy, underwater treadmills, and targeted strength sessions turn the pause into a weapon for the final push. Front offices watch closely as teams like the Bruins reintegrate Olympians like Pastrnak and Lindholm, betting on that extra edge to separate contenders from pretenders in the stretch run.