Bruins general manager Don Sweeney pulled off an impressive high-wire act Sunday night. He made a pair of trades that give the Bruins a shot this season without sacrificing the future.
The Bruins needed forward help. Sweeney addressed that by acquiring Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar from the Sabres in exchange for Anders Bjork and a second-round pick.
The Bruins also needed help on defense. He addressed that by getting Mike Reilly from the Senators for a third-round pick.
After trading away two of his last three first-round picks, and with the Bruins’ farm system shallower than most, Sweeney really didn’t want to trade another first-round pick or a top prospect. He didn’t.
Both moves come with some question marks, as most trades do. Hall, the 2010 first overall pick and 2018 league MVP, has seen his offense decline in recent years, plummeting to two goals and 17 assists in 37 games this season. That, combined with the fact that he is a free agent after the season, is why it didn’t take a first-round pick or top prospect to get him.
Hall still drives play and creates scoring chances at a high level, but his finishing has been virtually non-existent. If it bounces back at all -- and the Bruins are obviously hoping it does -- he could be a steal at this price. At the very least, just creating scoring chances for linemates would be a welcome sight for the Bruins.
Lazar, who is currently listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury, could be a solid fourth-line center or right wing when he returns and give that line some pop that has been missing this season. He is signed for next year as well.
Reilly, 27, has bounced around a bit in his career, but has found his game over the last season and a half in Ottawa, emerging as a bright spot on a bad team. He has a career-high 19 points (all assists) this season while playing top-four minutes.
He brings some skating and puck-moving skills the Bruins have desperately needed on the back end, and his playmaking ability should help create more offense. He isn’t a shutdown defender by any means, but he has gotten better defensively in recent years. For just a third-round pick, he presents great value.
The Bruins needed help on the ice, and Sweeney got it. They also needed a jolt of energy. Especially after Sunday night’s demoralizing 8-1 loss to the Capitals, they needed a sign that they were going for it this year and that there was still a reason to believe. This is it.
David Krejci is probably waking up with a smile on his face thinking about having Hall on his wing and knowing that what could be his final season in Boston isn’t turning into a write-off. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand should have a little less concern about one of their prime years going to waste.
Reilly’s arrival, combined with the nearing returns of Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, Kevan Miller and eventually Brandon Carlo, make it much easier for coach Bruce Cassidy to fill out a defense lineup with actual NHL-caliber blue-liners and not the ragtag bunch of AHLers and career journeymen he had to trot out Sunday.
Are these moves that put the Bruins “over the top” or make them Stanley Cup favorites? Maybe not. That kind of move probably wasn’t out there to be made anyways.
But they’re moves that give the Bruins some hope and a chance. It’s no longer impossible to envision a spring in which things come together for a deep playoff run.
And Sweeney gave them that chance without mortgaging the future. While it’s still fair to criticize him for the roster he went into this season with, he managed to walk the trade deadline tightrope well, and deserves credit for doing so.