The Boston Bruins have made one trade as of Thursday morning, sending Trent Frederic and Max Jones to Edmonton for two picks and a prospect. How many more they make before Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, and how big of a sell-off this turns into, remains to be seen.
Either way, Mike Milbury does not believe this retool is going to be a short one. Making his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show on Thursday, the former Bruins player and coach said the Bruins are “not in a good position” and that this “is not a quick turnaround.” Listen to the full interview above.
“Yikes. They're not in a good position,” Milbury said. “…They need talent, and they need to accumulate as many draft picks as they can. I don't know what the free-agent market looks like this summer. They took a swing and missed last year on a first- or second-line center. They will not be any good and they will not be any contending kind of team until they fill the voids at the first-line center and the second-line center position.
“…I don't think they're going to be able to get that at trading deadline day. It looks to me that they would need to accumulate some draft picks if they can, wherever they can, and start to focus on that. It's not a quick turnaround. This is not a quick turnaround.”
Milbury said that while there aren’t many players the Bruins “need” to trade before Friday afternoon, there are only a few players he would consider untouchable.
“I don't know that I need to part with anybody,” he said. “I'm hanging on to Swayman. I'm hanging on to McAvoy. Lohrei's a work in progress, but I'd hang on to him. And Pastrnak. Beyond that, I'm investigating, I'm turning over stones to see what I can find. I’m probably not in a hurry to keep really much of anybody else. Maybe Mark Kastelic because he has that fire, he'll fight for you whenever he can.
“…There's some useful pieces to the puzzle, don't get me wrong. If Geekie sticks around, it won't bother me. But if he goes, it won't bother me either. Because they have to play the game where they're trying to cash chips to get lucky probably in the second or third round, not just the first round. They have to make some great picks in the middling rounds that turn out to be top-flight players, and that is not easy to do.”
As for captain Brad Marchand, who is currently week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Milbury included him in the group of players that he would be open to trading.
“I have said this before on the show, and I'd say it to Brad Marchand: As great as he's been for the Bruins, he's 36 years old. They need chips to transfer into assets,” Milbury said. “Realistically, he's got to be able to look in the mirror and say, ‘We're not competing for a championship here. We might squeak into the playoffs if we're lucky.’ But why not go someplace and find yourself a chance to win a ring? Like guys like Crosby and Malkin, again, why not give it a try? I mean, it worked for Ray Bourque, it was fun for Bourque.
“And I think it would be great for the organization to get an asset for him. The conversation should have already taken place. So, whether they can do it and whether his injury will allow it to happen, I can't answer that question. But I certainly would be exploring it. They've got a lot of work cut out for them.”