Breaking news from the Murphy’s Law department: Trent Frederic is out week-to-week after suffering a lower-body injury during the Boston Bruins’ loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
In and of itself, that’s not as devastating a loss for the on-ice product as Charlie McAvoy or Hampus Lindholm. Frederic has had a down season right from the get-go, and he was in the midst of another far-too-quiet stretch, with just one point in his last 11 games.
It may very well hurt the Bruins moving forward, though, because Frederic’s trade value is now suddenly in flux. The 27-year-old forward is a pending unrestricted free agent, and seemed all along like the most likely Bruin to get traded before the March 7 trade deadline.
General manager Don Sweeney said on Sunday that he did not expect to work out extensions with any of the team’s pending free agents, other than maybe captain Brad Marchand, before the deadline. It may as well have been a public declaration that Frederic was very much available.
He still might be. The Athletic’s Chris Johnston reported on Thursday that Frederic’s injury “won’t change any plans” before the deadline and that Frederic “could still be moved.”
But, there’s no doubt that any potential trade just got more complicated. Frederic’s value was already a source of some debate. Would an acquiring team be paying for the player who has eight goals and 15 points this season? Or the one who had 18 goals and 40 points last year? Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli ran some trade comparables for Frederic earlier this week, and the conclusion was basically that the Bruins would probably be aiming for a second-round pick in return.
That may not be attainable now that there’s a health question and teams may not know exactly when Frederic will be able to suit up for them. Are the Bruins looking at a third-round pick now? Fourth? Even less than that?
Someone will probably still want Frederic as long as he is definitely going to return this season. In that sense, the Bruins appear to have at least avoided the worst-case scenario. They can still get something for him if they do decide to trade him and don’t want to risk losing him for nothing in the summer.
But it may not be a higher-end asset, and the Bruins could really use higher-end assets as they retool for the future. It’s fair to wonder if they might be a little more willing to trade someone else if they’re no longer looking at the kind of return for Frederic that they would have been hoping for.
The other impact of Frederic’s injury is who the Bruins put on the third line with him out. On Thursday night, it is expected to be Riley Tufte and Justin Brazeau flanking center Matt Poitras. Oliver Wahlstrom draws out after a rough game against Toronto -- and in fact was placed on waivers Thursday afternoon.
That likely marks the end of Wahlstrom's time in Boston. After being claimed off waivers from the New York Islanders, Wahlstrom registered just two points in 16 games as a Bruin.
The combination of Frederic's injury and Wahlstrom's waiving also opens up at least one and probably two roster spots for call-ups. What the Bruins do with them remains to be seen. Interim head coach Joe Sacco had said earlier Thursday that he didn't anticipate any call-ups "at the moment," but Thursday afternoon's maneuvering probably changes that.
Georgii Merkulov is leading AHL Providence in scoring for a third straight season. He had two more points Wednesday night and has 17 points in his last 17 games. He has gotten just three games in Boston this season, but could be first in line for a promotion now.
Fabian Lysell, Boston’s 2021 first-round pick, has hit a cold spell in Providence (4 points in his last 11 games), but looked fine in the one game he played in the NHL this season. John Farinacci, who just turned 24, is making a push of his own with 10 points in his last nine games for Providence.
The Bruins could use a spark from any of them, because their third line -- not just Wahlstrom -- has gone awfully quiet.
Brazeau, another pending UFA who could be a trade candidate, has zero points in his last nine games. Tufte has zero points and zero shots on goal in four games in Boston this season. He played a whopping 8:15 in his last appearance on Saturday.
Poitras has zero goals in his last 18 NHL games. He is at least creating some chances, but currently is not working with linemates capable of finishing them.
So, that’s the update as of Thursday afternoon. Frederic is out, but the Bruins might still try to trade him before next Friday. Wahlstrom is on waivers. Brazeau and Tufte will get another opportunity Thursday night, but the door is now wide open for another call-up or two before the weekend.