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The Boston Bruins are in a precarious position in the NHL’s Eastern Conference standings.
Right now, the Bruins sit fourth in the wild-card race, just one point behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card berth and two points behind the Ottawa Senators for the first spot.
After signing Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov last off-season and finally re-signing goaltender Jeremy Swayman before the regular season began, expectations were much higher for the Bruins this season. Winning one playoff round was not enough for them.
The team’s failure to meet those expectations so far, even after firing coach Jim Montgomery, has led to some difficult decisions ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Let’s examine the pros and cons of the Bruins doing one of three things: be buyers and upgrade their roster, be sellers and turn the focus to next season, or stand pat for the rest of this season.
Pros Of Bruins Being Buyers
The Bruins are built to win now. However, their struggles this season indicate they need to add talent to maneuver into a playoff spot.
Specifically, Boston needs help on offense, as they’re currently 25th overall in goals-for per game at 2.75. All the teams below the B’s in that category are non-playoff teams. Even though David Pastrnak got hot and leads all NHLers in points since Jan. 1, with 31 points in 18 games, the Bruins are still only 11th in goals-for per game in that span. The need for more help on offense is clear.
Being buyers should give the Bruins enough of a shakeup to overtake the teams ahead of them in the wild-card race. Given that Boston is aiming for a long post-season run, adding depth on offense and in their own zone will be exactly what this franchise needs.
Related: NHL 4 Nations Face-Off: Who Has The Most To Lose? Don Sweeney Is One Of Them
Cons of Bruins Being Buyers
If the Bruins buy, they’ll have to give up something important in any trade to outbid others. That means they’ll likely surrender draft picks and prospects in any deal. But in doing so, Boston would be depleting a prospect group that THN.com prospect expert Tony Ferrari used the word “barren” to describe.
That doesn’t bode well for Boston’s long-term chances of success. They’ll be hamstringing their future for what will almost certainly be a short-term fix. That might not be palatable for Boston management or Bruins supporters.
Related: 4 Nations Face-Off: Five NHL Players With The Most To Gain
Pros Of Bruins Being Sellers
If the Bruins decide this season is a lost cause, they can sell off some valuable pieces, including center Trent Frederic and right winger Justin Brazeau. Both players are pending UFAs. If Boston GM Don Sweeney really wants to change his team’s core, exploring a deal involving captain Brad Marchand would be an aggressive move to try to achieve that.
They could be legitimate playoff threats as soon as next season by taking a step back now. It may not sit well with Boston fans who want to see the B’s challenging for a Stanley Cup every season, but in the big picture, selling off pending free agents right now may be the best road ahead for them.
Related: How Likely Are The Bruins To Trade Brad Marchand Before The NHL Trade Deadline?
Cons Of Bruins Being Sellers
The Boston Bruins would all but guarantee their eight-year playoff streak will end if they’re sellers. They’re not doing enough right now, and trading NHL players for future assets would make it even more difficult to catch up in the playoff race.
Missing the post-season would be a massive step backward for a team that started the campaign fully intending to challenge for the Stanley Cup.
The optics of that strategy won’t be ideal. Boston is a city that’s had tremendous successes in multiple professional sports, so any major failure the Bruins encounter will not sit well with the masses.
Pros Of Bruins Standing Pat
By staying the course and not being buyers or sellers, the Bruins would believe the solution to their struggles has to come from within. That would be a vote of confidence in Boston’s players right now, and perhaps that’s the message the team needs.
Boston also needs assistance on defense, as their 3.18 goals against per game rank 24th in the NHL. But shutdown defenseman Hampus Lindholm hasn’t played since Nov. 12 due to injury. Missing a crucial piece of the puzzle doesn’t do the rest of the team many favors, and his eventual return will be a huge boost.
They do have some experienced talents in-house who can help them clamp down in their zone. Although goaltender Jeremy Swayman hasn’t played well this season with an .898 save percentage and 2.98 goals-against average, he still has time to bounce back and show why he has an $8.25-million cap hit.
Trying to outbid other squads for another shutdown defenseman or for scoring depth on offense could be too costly. Standing pat could ultimately prove to be the right choice for Sweeney.
Related: NHL Trade Deadline Needs: Boston Bruins And Florida Panthers
Cons Of Bruins Standing Pat
The Bruins will likely get the same sub-par results they’ve had for four months this season. If the injury bug takes another bite out of their roster, the results could be even worse.
But if Boston fades from the playoff picture and loses key UFAs in free agency, they’ll have nothing to show for it. At least if they acquired a rental player and missed the playoffs, they can try to re-sign that player.
The team’s play this season is sinking them into the mushy middle. No team should want to stand in that.
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