It's not hard to identify the Bruins' biggest weakness so far this season. They're 21st in the NHL in total offense (2.78 goals per game) and 26th in five-on-five offense (2.10 goals per 60 minutes).
They need to score more. While adding a top-four defenseman would be nice as well -- especially with how banged-up the blue line has been -- it's pretty clear that finding a way to score more needs to be the priority.
General manager Don Sweeney is well aware of this reality, calling the Bruins' five-on-five offense a "major concern" on a Zoom call with reporters on Wednesday and acknowledging he may have to bring in outside help to fix it.
"Not at the current rate that we're going," Sweeney said when asked if they have the answers in-house. "Clearly we've played well defensively in the last five games or so. We just haven't generated -- or finished, I should say. Five-on-five is just not where it needs to be to consistently win, or to extend leads if you do get them. So, it's a concern across the board. It's not so much the top-heavy part of it, but just overall. Injuries have played a little bit of a factor there on the back end, but we've also not given up that much. Goaltenders are playing pretty well. So yeah, I think it's a major concern for us."
"…We've got Providence and some guys that have played well, but if we have to shake things up, I think we will do that," Sweeney added. "I understand that the expectations haven't changed. Our group has played well, but not quite good enough. The scoring has been the Achilles' heel up until this point. Hopefully we can find it from within, or I'm going to have to make a move to bring in support."
This year's trade deadline will present a couple unique challenges. For one, players who travel by plane after being dealt will have to quarantine for seven days -- or even longer for players who move from an American team to a Canadian team. And secondly, there is the Seattle expansion draft to take into account, as teams may be less willing to take on a player with term if it means having to expose that player or another good player to the Kraken.
Sweeney said he anticipates it might still be a couple weeks until more teams decide whether they're going to sell and things actually start happening.
"I think it's unique," Sweeney said. "I think everybody's going to evaluate where their team is at for the next, really, two weeks. You can be above the line or below the line pretty quickly. Injuries have certainly taken a toll, the compression of the schedule. I think there's a lot of variables in play. Your team usually dictates what you should try and do, and ours will. We certainly have areas we would like to explore to add, but it's been challenging.
"I think things will loosen up because there will be some teams that identify themselves as not necessarily in the position they want to be, and some player movement will happen. Moving across the border is a difficult thing with quarantine. And the health of your group will sometimes dictate how many player transactions will be there. Money is tight. Really it's navigating the unknown right now, but plenty of talks and conversations going on. So we'll see where it goes in the next couple weeks."
