Since taking over as Bruins GM in 2015, Don Sweeney hasn’t been someone who has been willing to make roster-altering trades in the middle of a season. Now, you may say, “Sweeney has gone out and added plenty of players at the deadline!” that is not what I’m referring to.
Outside of his first few months in the GM chair, when he traded Dougie Hamilton, Milan Lucic, and Reilly Smith, Sweeney has been very conservative with subtracting from the Bruins roster, especially during the season.
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The Boston Bruins have been in a state of transition since the minute they lost to the Panthers in the first round last year. We all knew Bergeron was questionable to return, and David Krejci was likely headed for retirement. The cap crunch was coming, and players were going to get squeezed. Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno were part of the subtractions to make cap space for the upcoming season. Once Patrice Bergeron officially announced his retirement, it felt right for the Bruins to start a retooling or rebuilding of the roster.
Instead, the Bruins forged on and made some savvy additions, like JVR, to the roster and primed themselves for another playoff run. Those additions have ultimately proved successful as the Bruins stormed out of the gate and continue to have a phenomenal season despite their recent struggles on their recent road trip.
Don Sweeney Needs to Change His Ways
While Boston is still hoping to compete for a Stanley Cup, there are no doubt some gaping holes on this roster, more specifically, in the coming future. With the Bergeron and Krejci departure, Matthew Poitras has clearly stepped up to the task of helping fill the void. The elephant in the room is that the future at the center position is still questionable.
There is no doubt that Sweeney and Co. will look to improve the Bruins’ center depth. They’ve already been linked to players such as Tomas Hertl, Sean Monahan, Elias Lindholm, and Adam Henrique. I think we can all agree that there is no question about adding; it’s about who and how much it’ll cost the Bruins. Boston went all-in last season, trading away a plethora of Draft Picks to add to their historic run in the 2023-24 season.
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That spending has left their pockets light in trade capital, which leads to the point I’d like to make. It’s time for Don Sweeney to break the mold and get creative. Sweeney has been very hesitant to remove players off the active roster in any trade. He has traded primarily Draft Picks and prospects. As you can see in some of the images above, the Bruins don’t have many valuable Draft Picks left, and their prospect pool is infamously thin. If you are the Boston Bruins and want to make a significant upgrade to your roster, there is an obvious answer.
Don Sweeney will have to trade a player off the roster.
Who are the Boston Bruins on expiring contracts?
Restricted Free Agents will not be included.
Jake DeBrusk | 27yo – $4m AAV
Jake DeBrusk has had an up-and-down relationship with the Bruins. After being a highly touted pick and bursting onto the scene with some memorable playoff moments, things spiraled in recent seasons, likely due to the previous Bruins bench boss, Bruce Cassidy, and DeBrusk having requested a trade. However, he rescinded it after Cassidy was relieved of his duties.
The question for Sweeney and DeBrusk to work through is a contract extension. With the turnover on the Bruins roster, it feels irresponsible for Sweeney to let DeBrusk walk at the end of the season as an “own rental.”
If DeBrusk is ultimately traded, his value is rather high. He is a young winger who has proven he can perform in the playoffs. When you consider players like Tomas Hertl or Trevor Zegras, the Bruins will need to have more than futures to entice these teams. DeBrusk is the type of player they may look to add to a package.
James van Riemsdyk | 34yo – $1m AAV
JVR is one of the most interesting cases for the Bruins. On a short-term, short-money contract, JVR is the perfect depth addition. This could have been one of the best free agent signings last offseason.
A lot of teams with Stanley Cup aspirations are going to be looking for players like van Riemsdyk to add to their lineup. He is performing at a high level on the Bruins, and his contract is very manageable, even for the most cap-strapped teams.
If the Bruins are looking to restock their cupboard of assets, JVR could be a player that fetches them a valuable pick or prospect. Potentially even packaging him for a young, highly touted prospect.
Danton Heinen | 28yo – $775K AAV
Danton Heinen has been a pinball bouncing around the league the last few seasons, but coming back to Boston has been a full-circle moment that feels right. Heinen has stepped back into the Bruins bottom six and is producing points and providing crucial minutes. Outside of JVR, Heinen’s contract is one of the best expiring deals the Bruins have.
With most Stanley Cup contenders’ cap space being ultra-thin, a contract under $1m is highly sought after.
Matt Grzelcyk | 30yo – $4.69m AAV
Grzelcyk is the most heart-wrenching case for Bruins fans to think of trading. Drafted and developed in Boston, his father works at the TD Garden, so there are plenty of reasons to be hesitant. The glaring issue with Grzelcyk is that, yes, he is an undersized defenseman, and that causes him trouble in the playoffs. Via the picture above, you can see playoff statistics listed below the regular season. It’s not a great look for him. “There are people who get you to the playoffs, and there are people who get you through the playoffs,” Grzelcyk can definitely help get you TO the playoffs, but he can’t seem to help the Bruins get THROUGH the playoffs.
For the contract he carries and the contract he is likely to ask for this offseason, I would make Matt Grzelyck available in a package for a younger center. With his previous point production, some teams would be interested in his low-cost addition for this season.
Derek Forbort | 31yo – $3m AAV
Derek Forbort is someone I personally owe an apology to. When this contract was signed, I was scratching my head, thinking, “Oh great, another one of these guys,” only to be pleasantly surprised when I saw his postseason performance.
In addition to his playoff performances, Forbort is a pillar of the Bruins’ penalty kill and an obvious hole in their lineup when he’s out with injury. While he is rarely going to light the lamp or have some dazzling play on the ice. Forbort is a player you only notice when he isn’t in the lineup.
With the cost and what he will do for your team, he isn’t likely worth trading. Teams wouldn’t want to give you more than a 5th or 6th-round pick for him anyway.
Kevin Shattenkirk | 34yo – $1.05m AAV
If you had asked me in September, “Will Kevin Shattenkirk mean more to the Bruins lineup than Matt Grzelcyk?” I would have said no. But as February begins, it’s much more of a debate than I would’ve thought.
Shattenkirk, who signed a short-money contract with the Bruins in the offseason, was a depth addition who has impressed. While the Bruins have been recently mixed into trade talks surrounding Jakob Chychrun, I don’t think Shattenkirk is the player you are looking to replace.
Overall, I think Shattenkirk’s low value and moderate production will make him relevant to the Bruins front office as a depth option for the playoff push. Leaving the aforementioned Grzelcyk being your #1 option.
Milan Lucic | 35yo – $1m AAV
Milan Lucic is the unique name on the list. He is currently on an indefinite leave of absence from the Bruins as he works through a legal battle following an alleged altercation with his wife at their residence. My thoughts are that Lucic isn’t headed anywhere at the Trade Deadline, including Boston. I could see the Bruins using the legal issues, if found and convicted of a crime, to terminate Lucic’s contract, which would save cap space.
Who could the Bruins trade with term?
Linus Ullmark | 30yo – $5m AAV/One Year Remaining
Linus Ullmark burst onto the Bruins’ map a few years ago with a bombshell five-year contract. If you saw his stats with the Buffalo Sabres, you immediately thought, “Wow, but can this continue with Boston?” The answer has been yes, it has. Ullmark led the Bruins to their best season on record and won himself the Vezina trophy for his stellar performances. Unfortunately for Ullmark, he and the Bruins have been abysmal in the playoffs during his tenure.
Ullmark currently has a 16-team no-trade list, which could complicate things, but odds are, he would be headed for a contender, not a bottom dweller.
John Beecher | 22yo – $925k AAV/One Year Remaining
With Johnny Beecher starting the year in Boston as their fourth line center, things were looking positive for his NHL future. With his recent assignment to AHL Providence, things are starting to look like your typical Bruins development program.
Beecher is a former first-round pick who has yet to blossom in the Boston system. To be fair, this is not all his fault. With Beecher’s size, skill, and grit, he is likely to catch the eye of a rebuilding franchise looking for some extra middle-six/bottom-six players for the future. It is worth noting that Trent Frederic struggled early in his NHL career and didn’t really become an NHL point producer until the last season and a half.
While I wholeheartedly believe trading Beecher would be giving up on a player way too early, his name has surfaced in recent trade rumors, and I felt obligated to mention it.
My Thoughts
While the Boston Bruins are definitely having another phenomenal season, the writing is on the wall. This team is getting older, faster. If Don Sweeney wants to keep this team relevant a little while longer, he will need to get creative with bringing in young and talented players at key positions. He started this offseason with the Morgan Geekie addition in free agency, and now he needs to keep the trend going.
If Sweeney is able to deal from a position of strength, defense, and goaltending to swing for a top-six center or a bonafide blue-chip prospect, he should jump at the opportunity. The future core of the Boston Bruins has the ability to stay competitive and compete for Stanley Cups in another 2-3 years if they can do some savvy business over the next 6-8 months.
The Jacobs family is infamously known as an ownership group that is hungry for postseason ticket revenue. Luckily for them, the Bruins have rarely missed the playoffs. It’s definitely within the realm of possibility for the Bruins to trade one or two players off the current roster in exchange for some younger players or future assets and still be able to perform in the playoffs for a round or two. As we saw last season, nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs.
After years of spending copious amounts of assets, it’s time to think of the future, too.
