It has been over a month since general manager (GM) Don Sweeney said that the Boston Bruins roster on opening night in 2023-24 is not going to look the same as the one that ended the season following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series on April 30. It was a crushing blow to a team that set an NHL record for wins (65) and points (135) in the regular season.
To compound matters, Sweeney went all-in at the trade deadline and acquired three players, Dmitry Orlov, and Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals and Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings. Boston’s GM sacrificed a lot of draft capital, their two first-round picks the next two seasons, to go all-in to help his team make a run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It never happened. At his end-of-the-season media availability, Sweeney made it known that a lot of the Black and Gold’s unrestricted free agents (UFAs) will not be back. The same could be said for their restricted free agents (RFAs).
“We’re not going to be the same team, but our mandate internally, collectively as a group, is we have a really strong core of guys that hopefully, as Jim was talking about, will continue to grow, will take leadership responsibility moving forward regardless of whether or not Patrice (Bergeron) and David (Krejci) walk back through the door because they need to.”
Bruins GM Don Sweeney
To compound matters, there is very little cap space available for the Bruins, which means some players currently under contract will be heading out the door in trades. It’s safe to say that nobody is really safe from being moved and if any are, it’s going to be to clear space. Two players’ names that could be moved are forwards Taylor Hall and Jake DeBrusk. It’s very unlikely that both players are moved, but if one is moved, who is better off leaving, and who is better off staying for the Bruins? Let’s break that down.
Taylor Hall
The one name that comes up the most is Hall’s. He has two more years remaining on his current four-year, $24 million contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $6 million. That’s a lot of money for someone who has not put up numbers like the Bruins thought he would. When he won the Hart Trophy in 2017-18 with the New Jersey Devils, he had 39 goals and 54 assists.
Since that season, injuries have played a big part in Hall’s career. He’s only played over 61 games once, in 2021-22 with the Bruins, and missed 21 games this season, mostly with a lower-body injury suffered in February against the Vancouver Canucks. He would go on to miss most of the remainder of the regular season before returning right before the playoffs to get game-ready for the postseason. He ended up being one of the better players against the Panthers with five goals and three assists in the seven games. Since being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres in April of 2021, Hall has been good, but in the big picture, a $6 million AAV over the next two seasons for a player who has not contributed as much as the Black and Gold would have hoped is a big chunk of money.
Hall’s speed has been a benefit to the Bruins and he took being sent down to the third line like a pro this season without saying a word. It appears that Hall and the team did not agree on the way his injury was handled with him appearing to be ready to return before he did. Trading for Bertuzzi blocked that from happening easily because of the cap situation they were in and Hall was placed on Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR). Being owed $12 million over the next two seasons is a good deal for Sweeney to move to a team looking for another offensive player.
Jake DeBrusk
It’s been nearly two years since DeBrusk requested a trade from the Bruins. A lot has changed since then. It’s widely speculated that his trade request was mainly because of his relationship with former coach Bruce Cassidy. Sweeney never honored the 14th overall pick in the 2015 Entry Draft’a request and signed him to a two-year extension in March of 2022 and DeBrusk rescinded that request. He just completed the first year of that deal for $8 million which carries a $4 million AAV.
In February of 2022, Cassidy moved DeBrusk up to the first line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. He thrived with the two future Hall of Famers and took off offensively. Things worked out so well that he rescinded his trade request after Cassidy was fired and Montgomery was hired and the Boston first-year coach kept the trio together.
Last season he had 27 goals and 23 assists and likely would have set a new career-high in goals with 28 if he didn’t miss a month with a broken foot. Since the move, DeBrusk has looked like a different player being on the first line. He’s more aggressive, he’s been getting to the front of the net causing problems, and finishing there and complimented Marchand and Bergeron nicely. After struggling to find his all-around game, it appears the simple move of moving DeBrusk to the first line has allowed him to take the next consistent step in his development. At 26 years old, he’s starting to come into the prime years of his career.
Who Should the Bruins Trade?
Who is Sweeney’s best trade trip and which player makes more sense trading? The answer for different reasons is Hall. Yes, he carries the higher AAV and to get a team to take on the full $6 million, Boston’s GM will have to add a sweetener or two into a deal most likely. DeBrusk has produced more recently and despite not having Hall’s skating game, he’s a younger player and the one to hold on to.
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Who knows what’s going to happen? Sweeney may be tinkling bigger than just moving one and could move both, but if Bergeron returns, breaking up the connection that the trio has formed over the last two years would be tough to break up. Of course, that could change things if Bergeron does retire, but you have to think that he has given Sweeney an idea of what his future decision is.
