Wednesday night’s 5-1 loss to the New Jersey Devils adds another uncharacteristic blowout loss for the Boston Bruins this season.
Despite a mini-retool in the offseason, which saw the additions of a supposed top-line center in Elias Lindholm and the trading of former Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, the Bruins may be headed towards a more drastic retool at this year’s deadline.
Roughly six weeks remain until the NHL trade deadline, and Bruins president Cam Neely has already signaled that a retool could be a “path” taken by the team at the season’s midpoint.
With that being said, how do Neely and general manager Don Sweeney sell off assets on a team like Boston that planned on contending in 2025?
Former Bruins defenseman and coach Mike Milbury offered some suggestions in his weekly appearance on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show. Listen to the full interview above.
“I don't think that there's a lack of effort, but it's clear that there needs to be changes in the lineup,” Milbury said Thursday.
Milbury believes that the task of evaluating the roster starts with the prospects.
“I think it's time to make sure you've given every one of your potential prospects, and I say potential because they're – I'm not sure if Poitras or Lysell or even Lohrei, who's had some pretty good luck lately, we need to find out from the Bruins perspective if these guys have any future,” Milbury said.
While Lohrei is one of the more promising prospects in Boston, he’s still had a lot of lowlights this season, earning himself a minus-12 through 44 games played.
“I've seen him make these mistakes over and over again, but he also is their best offensive defenseman right now. But you don't get called a defenseman because of your offense. You’ve got to find your way around the defensive zone, and he sometimes seems to be lost,” Milbury said.
After evaluating their young talent, Milbury believes Boston’s decision-making will become easier at the deadline.
“There’s a risk you might not make the playoffs, but you’ve got to look at all your young players, and you have to calculate towards the trading deadline, what do you want to give up?” he continued.
Milbury believes that the Bruins should leave all their options open regarding who can be traded, besides a few key players.
“As far as I'm concerned, there are only three players there that are untouchable, and that's Swayman, Pastrnak, and McAvoy,” Milbury said.
When asked if he thinks the Bruins should look at deals for their captain, Brad Marchand, Milbury said that a veteran player like Marchand should actually be excited to be moved somewhere else.
“I look at all the teams in the National Hockey League with great players like Crosby and Malkin, why wouldn’t they want to be traded?” Milbury asked.
“Why wouldn’t you want to go at the end of your career? I know you've had a long, storied career in one city. But, the chance to go to, let's say Colorado or Edmonton, where they have a legitimate chance to win a Stanley Cup, you're making a bundle of money, and you're going to stay in a fancy hotel in another city for a few months, or maybe even move there for a couple of years at the end of your career. Why wouldn't you want to do that? I don't get it.”
As tough as it could be to see Marchand traded after 16 years in Boston, at the end of the day it may need to happen to get Boston back to contention.