It was unchartered waters for the Boston Bruins. In the weeks leading up to the Trade Deadline, GM Don Sweeney and his staff were tasked with being something completely foreign to them for nearly a decade: sellers. After (somewhat) big game hunting over the summer in free agency, landing center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, the Bruins have been struggling to keep their heads above water in the Eastern Conference Wildcard race; they sit two points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets (albeit with three teams between them) for the final playoff spot as of Thursday morning.
I was told in the days leading up to the deadline that there weren’t many players “not available for the right price” on the Bruins’ roster. I wasn’t sure just how serious that comment was – until the deadline came and went. Shipping out Justin Brazeau, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and, most impactfully, captain Brad Marchand, Sweeney and company stayed true to their word and brought the hammer down on a group that has contributed to a disappointing season. Unloading 25% of your roster – including a franchise icon – is one way to fire a shot across the bow at your roster by announcing the status quo is not acceptable.
They waved the white flag on this season and saw an opportunity to reload by capitalizing on a crazy seller’s market. Bringing in prospects Max Wagner & William Zellers along with a first-round pick, three second-round picks (one of which could become a first) and a fourth-round pick, the Bruins restocked their Draft cupboard as well as bolstering their prospect pool.
The easy part is done; the axe has been taken to the roster. But what is next for the Bruins entering the 2025 offseason?
As I (and others) have reported, this is not the beginning of a long rebuilding process for the Bruins. As my colleague Matt Larkin alluded to today in his piece on Daily Faceoff, the Bruins are one of the teams with the most cap space. Per Puckpedia, the Bruins project to have just under $29 million entering the 2025 offseason. The question now is: what do they spend it on?
The first thing that comes to mind is the center ice position. Since the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci two summers ago, the Bruins have been swimming upstream in a desperate attempt to fill out the middle of the ice. Pavel Zacha has found a nice role beside David Pastrnak, but Zacha is still not an authentic first-line center. Coyle filled the second line pivot role for much of last season but was bumped to the wing this year upon the arrival of Lindholm; the latter’s impact was drastically underwhelming, ultimately resulting in him being knocked down a peg to the third line.
While on the surface the center position is one the Bruins would probably like to bolster, it is in better shape than we realize – especially after the deadline moves.
Even with all the cap space in the world, you are almost never going to find a first-line center in free agency. The Bruins already spent big bucks on a (borderline) first line center last season in Lindholm – we know how that has worked out. Zacha has found a niche as a top-six guy, and the acquisition of Casey Mittlestadt via the Colorado Avalanche as a reclamation project presents a possible middle-six pivot. Fraser Minten was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Carlo deal; most believe he will (at worst) be a third-liner. Add in 2022 second-round pick Matthew Poitras (who already has 66 NHL games under his belt) and suddenly the Bruins have several options down the middle.
Yes, there is no authentic top-line guy in there, but as one GM explained to me, there are probably only 15 of those types of players in the entire NHL; in many cases, you just need to do it by committee, which the Bruins have set themselves up for.
So are the Bruins not going to be big time players in Free Agency? I can’t say for sure one way or another, but I do wonder if they’d take a swing at Mitch Marner. Before we get carried away, I have not heard one way or another if that’s something the Bruins would aggressively pursue, but I do think adding talent on the wings is on their wish list. Already lacking overall skill on the wings, there is a need to augment that position even more after losing Coyle and Marchand. Adding skill and a massive fish like Marner would be a quick way to solve that issue, but there will probably be a dozen other teams lining up for the same player’s services this summer.
Beyond skill, adding good complementary players to the wing is something I’d expect the Bruins to be looking at this summer. As it was described to me, what Morgan Geekie has done playing with Pastrnak (who has been one of the league’s most productive players in the season’s second half) could be the genesis of Boston looking for similar types of players. Being able to identify wingers who can do things to help the centers and talented wingers is something that the Bruins lacked this season; after the impact Geekie has had playing alongside Pastrnak and Zacha, I would expect the Bruins will be on the lookout for similar players.
On the back end, the three big names are signed long term in Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm and Zadorov. Mason Lohrei is sure to get an extension (in some capacity) as an RFA, while Andrew Peeke is under contract for another season. Upon Carlo’s departure, maybe a depth, right handed rearguard could be in the cards as a target this summer, though I haven’t heard that with certainty.
The Bruins maximized returns on their assets in a crazy market and loaded up on the fly. The moves (and assets) they acquired give them options and flexibility entering the off season – now it’s time to see what their next move is in an effort to get back to contention.
Brad Marchand fallout
Amidst all of the action in New England, the trade of Marchand right under the wire at 3:00 p.m ET on Friday was by far the most impactful move from an intangible standpoint. Though it seemed like the Vegas Golden Knights were going to be the landing spot, the Bruins did right by Marchand – it has been said that he made his preferred team known and had a say in the process – by sending him to the division rival Florida Panthers.
The conditional second-round pick in 2027 is not going to change the trajectory of the franchise, but moving on from a franchise icon, team captain and last tie to the 2011 Stanley Cup championship sent shockwaves through the fan base – especially considering the player wanted to stay, by all accounts.
I wondered about this being more of a culture shift for the Bruins, but it wasn’t about that. As one person described to me, Marchand was one of the best leaders and captains the Bruins have ever seen and there were no qualms with him being one of the faces of the franchise. This came down to brass tax and the salary cap – plain and simple.
It has been widely reported that the Bruins were not willing to budge on their belief of Marchand’s value. While I’m not sure of the exact number Marchand was looking for, one source suggested the Steven Stamkos contract (four years, $8 million AAV) as something the player was maybe angling toward. This lines up with what Paul Bissonette mentioned on the podcast Spittin’ Chiclets, stating that Marchand’s camp was looking for an AAV of $7.5 million – right in the neighborhood of Lindholm. Ultimately the Bruins wouldn’t budge, holding firm on their internal value of the player.
From the Bruins’ side, the best I can deduce is that they couldn’t justify paying Marchand that kind of money; I don’t think they could even bring themselves to pay him his current AAV of $6.13 million. Marchand’s point totals have had a slow, but steady, decline over the last 12 to 18 months – going from 67 points in back to back seasons and on pace for 61 prorated over 82 games this season – and the Bruins had to ask themselves where his game was going. As one person said to me, where would Marchand be on a Cup contending team? Though he is injured right now, you have to imagine Marchand will be somewhere in Florida’s middle six when he does return; is a soon to be 37-year-old, middle six winger worth $6 million-plus in today’s NHL? It was something the Bruins ultimately couldn’t commit to.
This had nothing to do with turning the page on the player; he is an amazing leader and would still be a Bruin in an ideal world. But with the Bruins looking to re-jig things (specifically on the wing) this summer, the cap flexibility to reshape their roster took precedence. A Marchand return to Boston this summer shouldn’t be ruled out, as I’ve been told, but it would have to come at a discount – because I don’t foresee the Bruins budging on their internal value of him.
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