In a perfect world, the Bruins would add both a top-six winger and a top-four defenseman before the April 12 trade deadline.
We don’t live in a perfect world, though. While it isn’t impossible for Don Sweeney to do both, it will be difficult, and unlikely. Heck, just doing one will be difficult, because trading for players of that caliber is never exactly easy.
Push comes to shove, most Bruins fans and analysts would probably lean towards prioritizing a scoring wing given their offensive struggles, especially at five-on-five, and the fact that they have still for the most part been a strong defensive team, even with less experience and even with numerous injuries on the back end over the last couple weeks.
Sunday night’s 1-0 loss to the Devils offered the latest reminder that the Bruins could really use another scorer, someone outside their top line who is capable of making that one play that can swing these tight-checking, low-scoring games they’ve often found themselves in this season.
Unfortunately, what happened Friday night threw an uncomfortable wrench into this whole trade deadline equation. We are of course talking about Tom Wilson’s predatory hit to Brandon Carlo’s head, which sent Carlo to the hospital for a night and earned Wilson a seven-game suspension.
Obviously, Carlo’s health and wellbeing is far more important than anything hockey-related. Right now everyone just wants him to get better, and when he’ll be able to play again is really a secondary concern.
But it’s also a concern Sweeney can’t ignore. We don’t know how long Carlo is going to be out. Coach Bruce Cassidy relayed on Sunday that Carlo was “feeling better” but added that he would be “out for a while,” later adding that “week-to-week” would be a fair characterization.
We all know by now that putting any sort of timeline on a concussion is nearly impossible to do. (For what it’s worth, the Bruins haven’t officially called it a concussion yet.) It’s not like, say, Jeremy Lauzon’s fractured hand, where you know how to fix it, you know how long it usually takes to heal, and, if all goes well, things progress in a fairly linear fashion.
Concussions are unpredictable. Sometimes they’re less severe and players can return in a week or less. Sometimes they’re really severe and the symptoms linger for months or even years. Sometimes things might seem like they’re going in the right direction, only for there to then be a setback.
Everyone hopes Carlo is back in a week or two. But what does Sweeney do if, as we get closer to the trade deadline over the next month, Carlo is still “week-to-week” and not back on the ice yet?
What if Sweeney had already decided to prioritize offense? Does he now take a step back until he has more clarity on Carlo’s status? If there’s a deal to be made for a forward now, does he make it and worry about defense later, or does he hold off and risk losing out on that player?
Sweeney was probably going to at least be looking for depth on the blue line. He may have felt like that plus an impact forward would be enough, and been OK moving forward with a top four of Carlo, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk and, when he returns, Lauzon.
But a possible longer-term absence for Carlo would have to make getting a surefire top-four defenseman a priority, maybe even ahead of a top-six wing. It might be possible to do both, but only if you’re willing to give up enough valuable pieces to do so (and keep in mind this is a team that’s already thin on elite prospects and has already gone two of the last three years without a first-round pick).
This next month was already going to be challenging enough for Sweeney. Tom Wilson’s vicious hit to Carlo’s head has now made it even more uncomfortable and complicated.