Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney has ripped off the Band-Aid.
In a series of shocking moves, the Boston Bruins ended an era at the NHL’s trade deadline. And you have to give Sweeney credit: he’s done what so many other GMs have been unwilling to do.
In trading Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau at this year’s NHL trade deadline, the Bruins GM has acknowledged that this team wasn’t good enough to win a Stanley Cup — much less make the playoffs. And so, the inevitable rebuild has begun for a team that’s 12th in the Eastern Conference and has gone eight years without missing the post-season.
The tear-down process for Boston began earlier this week, when Sweeney sent center Frederic to Edmonton. On Thursday, the Bruins dealt right winger Justin Brazeau to Minnesota. But on deadline day, Sweeney took a wrecking ball to the heart of his roster, moving center Coyle to Colorado, captain Marchand to Florida and Carlo to Toronto.
It had to be a devastating blow to Bruins fans – and Bruins stars David Pastrnak and Jeremy Swayman, who are left to carry the pieces for the duration of the season – but Sweeney did what was needed. There were no half-measures on Friday. Boston turned the page the way few teams have dared to do. And now, the Bruins are better-positioned to have sustainable success sooner than later.
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Picking up above-average former Leafs prospect Fraser Minten in the Carlo trade gives Boston a solid center for the next decade or longer. Getting a second-round pick that could turn into a first-rounder in the Marchand deal also helps Boston’s future. and adding former Avs center Casey Mittelstadt (acquired in the Coyle deal) gives the Bruins a piece they may be able to flip in the off-season. But being willing to bid farewell to Marchand – the heart-and-soul of the franchise – and an excellent defensive defenseman in Carlo are the type of big-swing moves you rarely see in a single season, let alone a single day.
Boston fans will have fond memories of Marchand, Coyle and Carlo to get them through the tough times ahead. But the truth of the matter is this wasn’t going to be a Bruins team that could do much of anything positive the rest of the way this year. Time and again, Boston did not live up to the lofty standard set by previous Bruins iterations.
So while it hurt tremendously to bid farewell to three key cogs, it was the right thing for Sweeney to do. Moreover, it had to take all sorts of guts for Sweeney to send two core players to Atlantic Division rivals in Florida and Toronto. But those were the best deals Sweeney could get for his trio of veterans, and that’s reason enough for him to pull the trigger on the trades he made Friday.
It’s not like Boston has completely torn down their lineup. With Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Swayman still on the team, the Bruins may be able to fast-track their turnaround and get back into playoff contention next season. Who knows, with only three points separating them from the final wild card spot, they could still surprise and sneak in. But in return for some short-term suffering for the next month-and-a-half, Boston has added assets they weren’t going to get any other way.
It would’ve been easy to apply band-aid solutions to the Bruins. But instead, Sweeney has done what few GMs ever do – and torn it off in a painful move that was the best thing in the long run.
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