It is officially trade deadline week in the NHL. Teams have until 3 p.m. on Friday to more or less finalize their roster for the stretch run. The only opportunities to add outside help after that will come from waiver claims or free-agent signings (most likely of the college variety).
Sunday Skate: What do the Bruins do at the trade deadline?
The Bruins enter the week firmly entrenched in a playoff spot, with their 84 points landing them second in the division and third in the whole NHL. A 4-4-5 record since the All-Star break has raised more questions than general manager Don Sweeney would like to be trying to answer, though, especially since he has no cap space and limited draft and prospect capital.
So, how will Sweeney approach this week? Here are five questions he’ll have to answer:
1. Does he truly believe this team can contend for the Cup?
If the answer is yes, then Sweeney should do everything in his power to make meaningful improvements to this team, whether that’s up front, on defense or both. Even the most optimistic Bruins supporter would have to admit that Boston could use help in both areas.
Team president Cam Neely acknowledged as much last week, telling The Athletic that “another stiff defender would be good” and that “you could always use help on offense.”
Publicly, Sweeney, Neely and the rest of management will say they believe in this team any chance they get, whether that’s before or after the deadline. But what if privately they believe this team just has too many weaknesses, ones that have been exploited repeatedly during their post-All-Star break swoon?
What if they believe that, given their limited assets and cap space, they’re not really going to be able to fix what needs fixing until the summer, when they’ll have a lot more cap space and roster flexibility? Then, perhaps, the best approach for now would be to just ride things out with this roster more or less as it is, maybe with a minor tweak or two around the edges. Get to the dance, see what happens, and maybe everyone will be pleasantly surprised.
2. What area of the roster is his priority?
“There’s a physical part of the game that I think we’re lacking at times. I think when we get dragged in or drag ourselves in, we respond appropriately throughout our lineup. But can we start that and survive through that? That’s an area Cam referenced the other day that maybe we’d like to try and address.”
That’s what Sweeney said on NESN’s pregame show on Thursday when Billy Jaffe asked him what the Bruins’ biggest area of need was.
While Neely specifically referenced a “stiff defender,” Sweeney did not specify a position. Physicality will clearly be a priority, but that could come up front, on defense or both.
When Sweeney acquired Garnet Hathaway last year, he referenced a desire to create more “anxiety on the forecheck.” The Bruins could use more of that again this season.
Coach Jim Montgomery, meanwhile, has referenced the same need as Neely throughout this season, saying on multiple occasions that net-front defense is the area the Bruins most need to improve. Ranking 22nd in the NHL in high-danger chances allowed backs him up.
So, just putting it all together, we’ll say that a physical defender who can protect the net-front seems to be priority No. 1. Neely’s mention of “help on offense,” combined with a handful of top-nine forwards going quiet in recent weeks, might put a scorer – at either center or on the wing – at No. 2.
The Bruins could use a mobile defenseman to help with their breakouts and transition game, too, but realistically it’s already going to be difficult enough to address even one of their top priorities. Some areas are going to need to wait until the offseason, and that is probably one of them.
3. Will he trade any of the pending free agents?
The Bruins are not in a position to be sellers. Teams that are near the top of the standings simply don’t do that, no matter how flawed they’ve looked recently.
That doesn’t mean Sweeney won’t trade players off the active roster, though. In fact, if he’s going to acquire anyone, he almost has to. The NHL’s hard cap and the Bruins’ utter lack of cap space require it.
The natural place to start when looking at players who could be on the move are the pending unrestricted free agents, who may not be part of Sweeney’s long-term plans. That’s Jake DeBrusk ($4 million cap hit) and James van Riemsdyk ($1M) up front, and Matt Grzelcyk ($3.69M), Derek Forbort ($3M) and Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.05M) on defense.
DeBrusk (1 goal in the last 14 games) and van Riemsdyk (0 in 7) are two of a handful of middle-six forwards who have gone too quiet recently. It is a bad time for that to happen. If Sweeney wants to acquire more consistency and certainty in the middle of his forward lineup, one of them could be the one making way. Trading DeBrusk would free up more money.
Forbort has battled injuries all season and has struggled when he’s played recently. Grzelcyk has been inconsistent most of the season, has been banged-up himself recently, and has struggled to hold up in the playoffs. If Sweeney wants to upgrade the left side of his defense, perhaps with that coveted “stiff defender,” one of those two could be shipped out to make room.
4. Is trading a goalie on the table?
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman recently speculated that it could be. This would be just about the biggest shakeup imaginable.
The Bruins knew goaltending was going to need to be a strength this season, just as it was last year. For much of the season, it was. Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark covered up for a lot of mistakes earlier in the year, allowing Boston to storm out of the gates and rack up points despite not always playing the best hockey.
Since the All-Star break, though, both goalies have looked human. Swayman is 3-3-1 with a .902 save percentage. Ullmark is 1-1-4 with an .888 save percentage.
If they’re not bailing out the team the way they have in the past, and if there’s a good chance the Bruins will be moving on from one of them in the offseason anyways, then why not at least consider a trade now?
Ullmark would be the more likely of the two to be traded. He’s older (30 vs. 25) and he has the bigger cap hit ($5M vs. $3.475M). Ullmark’s contract runs through next season, while Swayman is in line for a longer-term extension this summer after getting a one-year deal last offseason following a contentious arbitration case. Ullmark does have a 16-team no-trade list that would have to be accounted for.
Despite his recent slump, Ullmark could potentially land the Bruins a valuable asset to use in another trade, and moving his contract could free up the money needed to bring in a middle-six forward or top-four defenseman.
The Bruins shouldn’t trade Ullmark just to trade him. He’s too valuable for that. A good return has to be there. But if it is, Sweeney might decide he’s ready to hand the keys to Swayman.
5. Is he willing to move any premium assets?
I know what you’re thinking: “They don’t have any.” That’s not entirely true, though. They just don’t have many.
The Bruins don’t have any picks in the first three rounds of this summer’s draft. They do have first- and third-round picks in 2025, though, plus all of their picks in 2026.
They don’t have much in the way of high-end prospects or young players, but Mason Lohrei, Matt Poitras and Fabian Lysell would certainly hold quite a bit of value for other teams.
Sweeney will understandably be reluctant to trade away any more high picks or any young talent. But does being reluctant mean they’re 100%, completely off-limits? Or might Sweeney budge for the right player? It would most likely have to be a core-type player in his prime who is either under team control or willing to sign an extension. Think Hampus Lindholm trade.
The safe bet is that Sweeney will not be trading a first-round pick or one of his top young players – certainly not for a rental like he did when going all-in last season. Sweeney has shown a willingness to go big before, though, so nothing should be ruled out.