The Boston Bruins have some difficult decisions to make this season. The team is 5-4-1 in their last 10 games, and though things have looked better under interim head coach Joe Sacco, the problems that plague this team haven’t entirely been rectified just yet. Arguably the biggest and most consistent issue that this team has experienced this season has, ironically, been consistency. Whether it’s from a shift-to-shift basis or a game-to-game basis, the Bruins haven’t consistently been able to play up to expectation and it’s led to the team losing about as many games as they’ve won. Part of this can be attributed to team play as a whole, but specific players simply not living up to their usual standards also bear some of the blame.
One such player experiencing this is Trent Frederic. It’s no secret that Frederic is in the midst of a down season with the 26-year-old scoring just five goals and 11 points in 39 games thus far. That pace is a far cry from the 17 and 18 goals he scored in 2022-23 and 2023-24 respectively. Though the offensive output is lacking, the more concerning thing for the Bruins is that Frederic’s all-around play has just looked decidedly worse this season than in the past. It’s unclear what’s been causing Frederic to struggle, but with Frederic in a contract season, the Bruins will have to decide what his future looks like in Boston and whether it’s time to start looking in a different direction.
This won’t be a popular opinion, especially given how beloved Frederic is not just within the Bruins locker room, but also amongst fans of the team. It’s not hard to see why he’s so loved, too, given his team-first attitude, two-way skillset, secondary scoring ability and energy creation.
Simply put, when Frederic is at his best, he’s exactly the kind of player a contending team wants in their lineup in the postseason. Unfortunately, Frederic hasn’t been at his best and that’s slightly concerning for the Bruins given Frederic’s pending unrestricted free-agent status.
Bruins Balancing Short-Term and Long-Term Goals
If the Bruins think that Frederic is just experiencing a slump, then they’ll almost certainly look to keep the veteran forward in their lineup and see how things go in offseason contract discussions. If the Bruins determine internally that they want to explore trade options for Frederic, however, an issue that may arise is the fact that trading him now would be a classic sell-low scenario.
Worse players than Frederic have commanded significant returns at the Trade Deadline, but it’s always difficult to gauge whether a market will favor buyers or sellers until moves start to take place. Another factor to consider is that the Bruins do have Matt Poitras currently playing in Providence in the AHL. Poitras figures to be part of the Bruins’ long-term plans, though it’s unclear if he’ll end up being a regular top-six center or if he’ll be better suited for a role somewhere in the middle-six, potentially in the third-line center role that Frederic currently occupies. Having an in-house replacement for Frederic is a good thing if the Bruins determine to trade him, but that shouldn’t immediately give the Bruins the green light to ship him off to the first bidder.
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If the Bruins determine they are still contenders this season by the time the deadline approaches, it would almost be irresponsible to move on from Frederic. The team’s clear desire to win in the immediate future, as evidenced by their major signings of Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov in the offseason, points to short-term success being just as important to the team as long-term success. At the same time, a first-round pick may be too hard to pass up if the market dictates that Frederic is worth such a return for a contender looking for an experienced top-nine player who can play center or wing in a pinch. There’s also the possibility that the Bruins package Frederic into a bigger deal to acquire an impact player who can join the NHL roster immediately.
No matter what the Bruins decide to do with Frederic, there will undoubtedly be strong opinions on both sides of the debate. Being a general manager in the NHL isn’t easy, and trading away a good player who has become a fan-favorite and locker-room glue player might be among the hardest moves to make. It’s not a decision to take lightly, but it’s one that the team will have to make in the very near future.
