On Sunday of last week, Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney spoke to the media after the team’s latest loss. In their first post Four-Nations Face-Off game, the Bruins fell to the lowly Anaheim Ducks on home ice by a 3-2 overtime score Saturday night. Hardly the start to the stretch drive they were looking for. Following Sunday’s practice Sweeney took to the podium to address some key injuries and to discuss what might be in store for the group as the March 7th deadline approaches.
First, the GM addressed the lingering injury to #2 defenseman Hampus Lindholm. According to Sweeney Lindholm is unlikely to return this season due to a broken left patella. The injury is not healing as hoped and the defenseman will require a second surgery this week to “remove some hardware that has caused irritation”. A big blow to Boston as Lindholm had started to practice with the team leading up to the best-on-best tournament. Charlie McAvoy meanwhile is out indefinitely as he recovers from an infection and an injured AC joint in his right shoulder that was sustained in the USA/Finland game. For a team fighting for every point to sneak in to the playoffs this is catastrophic. So much so that Sweeney may have finally started to wave the white flag in what has been a troubled season in Boston from the start. The GM has been a perennial buyer over the last nine seasons at deadline time. So much so that we are now seeing the effects as the team struggles to score and to simply keep up with the rest of the league.
“Historically, we’ve been pretty aggressive and our team’s been in a position,” Sweeney said. “I think we’ll take a much more cautious approach as we approach the deadline. That being said, if there are opportunities to improve our team now and certainly moving forward, whether that’s positional shifts or other teams trying to identify what we might have a strength at, we will look at all opportunities to improve our team now, but more importantly, moving forward.” The time has arrived for the Bruins to pay the piper after going all in for close to a decade. Free agents to be such as Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, Cole Koepke and Parker Wotherspoon are all expected to move on, via the trade deadline or as free agents this summer. Brad Marchand, is the lone UFA expected to stay and Sweeney admitted as much.
“It’s unlikely we’ll move forward with things other than maybe Brad’s,” Sweeney said of deals for the UFA’s-to-be. “You never know. It takes one phone call for things to change.” If that sounds familiar from the GM it should. He said nearly the exact same thing this time last year about Jake DeBrusk who Boston watched leave for nothing as a free agent. The 36-year-old Marchand is second on the team in points and intends to play in 25-26. One of his goals is once again play for Canada but this time at the 2026 winter Olympics in Italy.
The belief here is that Marchand and the Bruins will find common ground on a one or two-year deal.
With the deadline fast approaching, the GM has a great opportunity to invest in the future. Boston boasts corner stone players such as David Pastrnak, Jeremy Swayman and Charlie McAvoy. A rebuild is not on the agenda given talent like that. A retool however, is mandatory for the Bruins. “I’m going to be cautious as it relates to the draft”, said Sweeney. “As we make moves, acquire and restock. Can we find players that are a little further along and identify them properly? All the above are all parts of the equation”. The GM has seen enough from this group to understand this simply is not the year. There is work that needs to be done for the Bruins to return to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender. “I’m going to have to unpack a lot of where we fell short in the context of our depth as it relates to Charlie and Hampus going down. We didn’t get off to the same start we would have liked to have preferred and we have in the past. When Joe (Sacco) took over, he did a very good job in the early going. We had things going in the right direction. Took a turn late January and early February where we started to play more porously than we should as a group. We were chasing offense a little bit. Defensively, we were starting to give up some things. You can’t do that. As the games get tighter, you realize, even in the 4 Nations, that scoring chances are minimal. Players are playing behind and above. We just didn’t do a good enough job collectively as a group. So, we started to spring some leaks. That usually shows up in your depth. That’s probably where the shortcomings sit right now.”
The Bruins sit one point out of the second wild card spot in the East and are technically still very much in the playoff picture. However, given their lack of offence this season and the injuries to their top two defenseman it’s hard to picture them playing any meaningful hockey in April. The time to sell and retool has been a hot topic among fans of the club this season. After Sweeney’s media availability last week, it appears that the brass is now planning for that exact path. The right one in the end.
The Lookahead
The Bruins host the Leafs Tuesday and the Islanders on Thursday. Big divisional and conference four-point affairs. They then spend the weekend on the road with matinee games in Pittsburgh and Minnesota. 8 crucial points for a team that needs every one of them to stay within reach of an eastern playoff spot.
G-Rant @TheRealG_Rant/Grant Cumming. Bruins fan. Bigger dreams, bigger screens, bigger feelings are planned.
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