The Boston Bruins are in a sticky situation heading into the second half of the season. They are in the playoff mix, but the gap is narrow. So, what should the Bruins do at the trade deadline? President Cam Neely didn’t shed much light on his plan during a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.
The Bruins hold the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but are they good enough to make a deep run? They should consider retooling instead.
Bruins Have Options
For the Bruins, the deadline will be more complicated than being buyers or sellers. Yes, they are in playoff contention, but is the roster worth buying into? Adding the right pieces to balance the roster could help with a playoff push, but to go all-in as they did in 2022-23 isn’t ideal.
This season, the Bruins fired head coach Jim Montgomery and replaced him with Joe Sacco. The change has helped Boston form an identity as a defense-first team, but they don’t have much offensive firepower. While goaltender Jeremy Swayman has been solid, winning two in a row, now is the time to plan for the future and Neely has two possible paths in mind.
Related: Bruins Offense Needs to Continue Playing Better in Front of Jeremy Swayman
“Right now, I don’t really have that appetite (for a rebuild or retool), but like I told our (general manager) and the staff – we have our meetings coming up here in a little bit. We do have to prepare for two paths,” Neely said on Wednesday. “Obviously, the one path is that we’re buyers, and we feel good about our team. But the other path is, maybe, somewhat of a retool. But we’re not focusing on that right now. We’re focussing on trying to get our team to be in a better place.”
Even after franchise pillars Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci departed, the Bruins have the pieces in place to avoid a rebuild. Upfront, they have superstar David Pastrnak, while Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and Brandon Carlo are on the back end and Swayman is in net. This is a core group to build around, and the Bruins should re-tool at the trade deadline with a look toward next season.
Bruins Need to Re-Tool
The Bruins are not a bad team, but they aren’t a great team, either. Offensively, they struggle to score goals, ranked 24th in goals for, and 26th in average goals per game at 2.62. Their special teams have been a disaster, as they rank 30th on the power play (13% success rate) and 24th on the penalty kill (75.9% success rate). Finally, their -22 goal differential is by far the worst of any playoff team. Again, they are not bad, but they should start looking ahead to 2025-26.
Bruins Players to Ship Out of Boston
Given the areas of concern mentioned above, the Bruins have some players they should look to move and recoup assets. Trent Frederic is considered a top trade candidate. Frederic has seven goals and 14 points in 46 games this season, and he is willing to stick up for his teammates and brings a physical element to his game.
He has also shown flashes of offensive upside in the past, with 18 goals and 40 points (both career-bests) last season. His shooting percentage has been north of 14% in each of the last two seasons, although this season it’s at 10.9%. Frederic is a pending unrestricted free agent (UFA) and not close to an extension, so Neely should consider moving him for assets and march forward, especially since his cap hit of $2.3 million should easily fit on most teams.
Justin Brazeau, also a pending UFA, has been a bright spot for the Bruins this season. He is eighth on the team in points (19) and tied for third in goals (10). It’s a testament to his impact on the club, but also how much the Bruins lack firepower. Brazeau has made a living on the power play and is an exceptional net-front presence, and his cap hit of $775k is very manageable.
The Bruins front office might also want to know Morgan Geekie‘s value on the market, but locking him up would be better for the future of the organization. Frederic and Brazeau would provide immediate depth on a Stanley Cup-contending team, which is exactly what teams are looking for. Should the Bruins decide to retool and move one or both of them at the deadline, they could call-up Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov. Matthew Poitras has already been brought up and immediately made an impact.
The Future of the Bruins
Not every year will be your year, and it’s not the Bruins’ year. The team is in good shape moving forward and will have around $20 million is salary cap space to work with at the deadline. Now is the time for the organization to cut ties with players they know they won’t bring back despite their place in the standings. If they can add valuable assets through those trades, it’ll give them room to build a stronger team for next season.
