Up until the Four Nations tournament, Boston Bruins Team President Cam Neely and General Manager Don Sweeney chose a “two paths” philosophy, with the Bruins lurking around a playoff spot. With a two-week break to evaluate things, one of those paths might emerge as the one to travel.
During the Bruins’ 4-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on ABC on Saturday, Emily Kaplan named a few Bruins generating trade interest. According to Kaplan, the Bruins are receiving “a bunch of calls” on defenseman Brandon Carlo and forwards Morgan Geekie and Trent Frederic. Outside of trading a top core player like David Pastrnak or Charlie McAvoy, these three veteran players might have the most value on the trade market.
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Carlo is a big right-shot stay-at-home defenseman who plays top-four minutes and kills penalties with an affordable contract with term remaining. The 28-year-old has a reasonable $4.1 million cap hit until the end of the 2026-27 season, with base salaries of $4.2 million next season and just $3.25 million the last year of his deal. In 55 games this season, Carlo has one goal, nine points, 56 hits, and 104 blocks, but also a whopping 74 giveaways, which is a career-high. When Carlo is playing well, he is a top shutdown defenseman, but currently, Carlo is struggling through his worst season.
Geekie has been a good addition to the Bruins with back-to-back 17 goals seasons and a chance for 25 goals in the last year of his contract. The 26-year-old winger will be looking for a raise from his $2 million salary in the offseason. Geekie is a pending restricted free agent, so the Bruins would still have control over his signing rights this summer if they tender him a qualifying offer.
As for Frederic, he has been the subject of trade rumors all season, including a possible move to his hometown St. Louis Blues. The 2016 first-round pick is a pending unrestricted free agent, and plenty of teams would love to have his grit in their bottom six. This season, Frederic has scored just eight goals and collected 15 points. However, on a playoff team, Frederic could provide a boost to a bottom-six group and also bring some toughness and support for his teammates.
The Bruins are at a crossroads now. There are just seven games after the break until the March 7 trade deadline. There might not be enough games to get a true sense of Boston’s playoff chances, which are currently at 15 percent, according to MoneyPuck.com.
Season 4. Episode 25. It's Not a Retool – Bruins Benders Podcast
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