Retool or chase playoffs? Bruins face tough trade deadline dilemma

Retool or chase playoffs? Bruins face tough trade deadline dilemma originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins, for most of Don Sweeney’s almost 10 years as general manager, have had a clear objective ahead of the NHL trade deadline.

Buy.

The Bruins’ problem for much of the last eight years hasn’t been whether they could qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The issue was whether they had enough depth for a long playoff run. And if not, which of the top players on the trade market should they pursue. More often than not, Sweeney has been aggressive in adding to his roster, even going all-in a few times.

This season presents a different dilemma for Sweeney and ownership. The Bruins have been an average team for most of the 2024-25 campaign. They entered Thursday just outside one of the wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn gives the B’s a 29 percent chance of reaching the postseason, based on his model.

Leapfrogging the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers or Toronto Maple Leafs for one of the three playoff berths in the Atlantic Division will be tough. Nine teams, including the Bruins, are realistically in the mix for a wild card berth at this time. Even if the Bruins got to the playoffs, there are credible concerns over whether this team could compete at a high level and win a round.

Bruins president Cam Neely even admitted earlier this month that the team could be buyers or sellers before the March 7 trade deadline.

“I think right now we’ve got to look at two paths,” Neely told reporters last week. “One that we’re buying. One that we may be retooling a little bit. We still feel like we’ve got a playoff team here. We certainly don’t want to jeopardize getting out of the playoffs because we made some moves that may be good for the future but not good for the present.”

So, what path should the Bruins take ahead of the trade deadline?

In hockey, unlike many other sports, just getting into the playoffs gives you a decent chance at making a run. The Stanley Cup Playoffs are super unpredictable, and several lower-seeded teams have won multiple rounds in recent years. The Bruins know that all too well after being upset in the first round of the 2023 playoffs by a Panthers team that barely got into the dance. Florida ended up advancing to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the Vegas Golden Knights.

It wouldn’t be shocking if the Bruins got into the playoffs and won a round, especially if they landed on the Metropolitan Division side of the bracket. Even though Jeremy Swayman has underperformed this season, he is capable of rising to the occasion when it matters most. Just ask the Maple Leafs. Swayman was the MVP of the Bruins-Leafs first-round series a year ago when he didn’t allow more than two goals in any of his six appearances.

The Bruins have many underperforming veterans, most notably Charlie Coyle, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm. Could any of them get hot in April or May? Sure. They aren’t as bad as their stats might suggest.

So, is chasing a playoff spot the best path for Boston?

No, it isn’t.

The Bruins need a quick re-tool.

They have had one of the worst prospect pools in the league for a while. In fact, The Athletic is currently doing its annual ranking of prospect pools and the Bruins are 30th for 2025. That catches up to you at some point, because when veterans inevitably depart, young players need to step in and fill the void. While young players such as Mason Lohrei and Matt Poitras have made a positive impact, that’s not enough to fill all the gaps. Poor drafting and development has resulted in a lack of talent coming through the system. This has been a huge problem for Boston for most of the last decade.

Trading draft picks, even middle-round picks, for veteran help does not make a ton of sense for the Bruins right now. They need as many picks as they can collect. The last time the Bruins picked in the first, second and third rounds of the same draft was 2015 — Sweeney’s first draft as GM. This streak is likely to continue because Boston is already without its second- and fourth-round picks in the 2025 draft due to previous trades. The B’s have picked in the first round just three times in the last seven drafts.

It’s possible the Bruins could surprise if they get into the playoffs. But if you look under the hood at some of the important stats, the odds of a dramatic turnaround in the postseason are likely pretty slim.

The Bruins rank 26th out of 32 teams with 2.77 goals scored per game. The power play has been awful all season and ranks 30th with a 13.8 percent success rate. In all situations, the B’s rank 23rd in shot attempts allowed, 26th in shots on net allowed, 24th in scoring chances allowed, 21st in high-danger chances allowed and 26th in goals allowed, per Natural Stat Trick. Boston’s minus-24 goal differential is the fifth-worst in the league.

Does that sound like a team worth investing in?

What the Bruins should do the rest of the season is give young players and prospects a real opportunity at the NHL level.

Lohrei, Poitras, Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov need to play and show whether they can produce against the best competition. Doing this will give the Bruins an idea of which prospects should be part of the team long term. Lysell was a 2021 first-round pick but has played only one game in the NHL. Merkulov has played in seven career NHL games despite being the most productive Providence Bruins player over the last two years.

The Bruins also have a couple young players who can hit free agency this summer. Trent Frederic can become an unrestricted free agent, while Morgan Geekie can be a restricted free agent. If the Bruins don’t think one or both will be with the team next season, then trading them for picks and/or prospects would be the best move. Boston isn’t in a situation where it makes sense to keep Frederic and Geekie and risk either player walking in free agency and getting nothing in return. Extend them or trade them.

Trading more experienced veterans is a little more difficult because so many of them have no-trade or no-movement clauses in their contracts, but if the B’s can swing a deal and get a good asset or two in return, it’s at least worth exploring.

A full rebuild doesn’t make sense and isn’t needed for the Bruins. This team has franchise pillars in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy and Swayman. All three are signed long term and in the prime of their careers. Hampus Lindholm, whose injury has been a real setback for the blue line, is very good and also signed long term. First-line left wing and captain Brad Marchand is still one of the team’s best players at age 36.

If the Bruins can add a few assets (draft picks, prospects) at the trade deadline and give themselves a better chance to make meaningful upgrades in the offseason, that would be a great outcome for the franchise.

And maybe the Bruins would still make the playoffs even if the team traded away a player or two. That could definitely happen. But chasing a playoff spot by giving away assets for short-term help makes little sense for this group.