Don Sweeney Reveals the Boston Bruins' Trade Plans Ahead of the Deadline
The Bruins are in a bit of a weird spot now, as they're close to the playoffs, but have played more games than everyone else, which could alter trade plans.
The Boston Bruins are in the thick of a competitive Eastern Conference playoff race. They're currently tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild-card spot, but Tampa has four games in hand.
According to MoneyPuck, Boston's playoff chances sit at just 16.6 percent. Under GM Don Sweeney, the Bruins have been trade deadline buyers since 2015. However, this might be different.
Sweeney will only be a buyer if the players prove to him they want to win
During Wednesday night's Bruins-Rangers broadcast on TNT, Sweeney addressed the March 7 trade deadline. He basically seemed to say he'd like to add to the roster, but only if the team proves deserving of reinforcements.
"We've missed Hampus Lindholm all year, at least the last 40 games, and it's affected our group. But everybody goes through injuries. You gotta battle through it, gotta find a way while I'm out there trying to improve our club. You know, if we have more injuries or we don't do the job between now and the deadline, we may have to take a different path."
Otherwise, selling could be an option, something Bruins president Cam Neely also seemed to hint at last month.
Considering where this team currently stands, dealing away key assets such as draft picks and prospects for short-term help doesn't make much sense.
If they could pick up a prime-age player with term, then that would be different, but rentals aren't worth the gamble.
It's possible the Bruins may consider trading pending free agents if things continue to fall further away. The list of players in that position includes forwards Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, Morgan Geekie, and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon.
Boston hosts the Vegas Golden Knights at TD Garden on Saturday before getting two weeks off for the 4 Nations Face-off.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Quinton Byfield | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kevin Fiala | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ryan Donato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Leon Draisaitl | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Warren Foegele | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Vladislav Gavrikov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jeff Skinner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Teuvo Teravainen | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mika Zibanejad | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Viktor Arvidsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brandt Clarke | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zach Hyman | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Chris Kreider | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Elias Lindholm | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Logan Mailloux | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alec Martinez | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Michael Matheson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Trevor Moore | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Artemi Panarin | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 55 | 38 | 14 | 3 | 79 | |
Capitals | 53 | 35 | 11 | 7 | 77 | |
Oilers | 54 | 34 | 16 | 4 | 72 | |
Stars | 53 | 34 | 18 | 1 | 69 | |
Hurricanes | 54 | 32 | 18 | 4 | 68 | |
Golden Knights | 54 | 31 | 17 | 6 | 68 | |
Panthers | 55 | 32 | 20 | 3 | 67 | |
Maple Leafs | 53 | 32 | 19 | 2 | 66 | |
Wild | 54 | 31 | 19 | 4 | 66 | |
Devils | 55 | 30 | 19 | 6 | 66 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||