Bruins forward drawing tons of trade interest ahead of roster freeze.

The Boston Bruins are being placed in somewhat of an uncomfortable position thanks to what is a great deal of interest from rival teams around the National Hockey League.

Popular Bruins forward Trent Frederic will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this current season which means the Bruins will either need to sign him to a new deal before that takes place or risk losing Frederic for nothing on the open market. That situation may be getting more difficult by the day for the Bruins with indications that there would be plenty of other teams interested in acquiring Frederic either via a trade or as a free agent this summer.

On Saturday night, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman indicated that there were a number of teams around the NHL interested in potentially acquiring Frederic even prior to the upcoming holiday roster freeze.

"There are some names out there that people are hearing from," said Friedman. "One of them... that's Trent Frederic of the Boston Bruins, unsigned for next year."

Interest from opposing teams has already likely drove up the price on what it would cost the Bruins to retain Frederic on a new contract but on the flip side it is likely to drive up the price of any return they might receive by moving him in a trade. According to Friedman, several teams around the league have already made calls to the Bruins to inquire about their plans for Frederic moving forward.

"Bruins are getting a lot of calls," said Friedman of Frederic. "He's a guy that's definitely got a lot of interest."

Frederic is a capable forward who has 5 goals and 6 assists for a total of 11 points in 32 games for the Bruins this season but what may be most attractive to opposing teams is his hard nose style of play on the ice. Frederic has never been one to shy away from the more physical aspects of the game and has shown again this season on multiple occasions that he is willing to drop the gloves when necessary.

The Bruins are currently still in the playoff race which might make them hesitant to trade away an important player like Frederic, but with the demand so high it may become a situation where the Bruins are priced out on a new contract while also seeing a large potential return via a trade. That will become even more true should the Bruins falter and find themselves outside of playoff contention this season.