The Boston Bruins knew some lean times could come, but they didn’t expect to enter the 2025 trade deadline as possible sellers. The reality is that the Bruins need to reset their franchise, and this trade deadline should be the first step. The Bruins are in danger of falling to second-to-last in the Atlantic Division and aren’t far from being one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference. It could be time for the team to accept their fate and ensure they land a top-ten pick in the 2025 NHL Draft by losing for the rest of the year.
Hampus Lindholm has been out of the lineup for most of the season with a knee injury and will now miss the rest of the year. Charlie McAvoy also hurt his shoulder at the Four Nations Faceoff and could be out long-term. Couple that with the struggles of the offseason acquisitions of Nikita Zadorov and Elias Lindholm, and it has been a recipe for disaster in Beantown this season. The Bruins have also been unable to get a save from goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who most pundits expected to be one of their bright spots this season.
A Bruins rebuild must happen
There is no sugarcoating it for the Bruins: their front office has done an atrocious job of stockpiling their system. It doesn’t help that the Bruins have been competitive nearly every season since 2010. Successful seasons lead to trading draft picks and prospects at trade deadlines, leaving you looking pretty thin after a decade and a half. The Bruins had a mini-retool for two seasons in the mid-2010s, which led to one of the most significant draft failures in NHL history.
The Bruins had three first-round draft picks in succession in 2015 and swung and missed on all three. Jake Debrusk was a valuable piece, but the other two picks were abysmal, and passing up players like Kyle Connor, Mat Barzal, and Thomas Chabot made them even worse decisions. The Bruins could have one of the worst scouting offices in the league, which makes it even more important to use this trade deadline as a springboard into a rebuild.
The Bruins have some good pieces that can land them some high picks. Brandon Carlo, Brad Marchand, and Trent Frederic could all seemingly land them first-round picks. After seeing Gustav Nyquist get the Nashville Predators a second-round pick, the Bruins should attempt to get the same return for Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie. Boston has the pieces to land five extra top-64 picks in upcoming drafts, and they must use the opportunity.
A complete teardown is the only way out of the mess for the Bruins. David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman already have some good pieces. Mason Lohrei is emerging as a valuable blueliner in McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm’s absence, and no one is stopping Marchand from returning in free agency in the offseason.
Don Sweeney and Cam Neely are too loyal to the core
The 2015 NHL Draft failed because the front office made bold moves and traded Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton. Both players were fan favorites, but clearly, the team wasn’t going anywhere, and they made some difficult decisions. It’s time for Don Sweeney and Cam Neely to do it again after nearly a decade of staying loyal to their core.
It has been challenging for them to give up on their players in the past. There have been times when the Bruins’ roster hasn’t been good enough to win, but Sweeney approaches media availabilities with a message that the guys in the room will figure things out. Sometimes, they are right, but it has led them down a path of one Stanley Cup in this 15-year run and a barren wasteland of a prospect list.
The nightmare scenario for the Bruins is if they are sitting with the same roster after the deadline passes. Boston’s front office must trade some core players and stop worrying about upsetting the fanbase. If they stick with the guys in the dressing room, it will only get worse, and there will be no hope of success on the horizon.
Marchand has been vocal about wanting to stay in Boston his entire career, and it’ll suck for Bruins fans to see him go. However, he is currently the most valuable trade asset on the team and will fetch an astonishing return from a contending team looking to add his winning pedigree. The time is now for the Bruins to sell, and remaining inactive or becoming buyers at the trade deadline would be a death sentence for the franchise.
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