So, what should Don Sweeney do at the deadline?

After a week plus hiatus due to a wedding I am back. Unfortunately, due to some technical difficulties with my laptop I am currently unable to make any video breakdowns right now, so I figured I’d write about the upcoming trade deadline and how I think Bruins GM Don Sweeney should handle it.

As of today (February 28th, 2022), the Bruins sit at 31-17-4, good for the first Wild Card spot in the East. It hasn’t been pretty a lot of nights, but the Bruins are a good team. I would not say they are truly elite in any one area (maybe special teams), but they don’t have any glaring weaknesses either. Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand are still excellent at both ends, Charlie McAvoy is a bona fide #1 defenseman, David Pastrnak is one of the leagues best goal scorers, and the goaltending has been mostly good. Are they a serious Cup threat as currently constituted? Probably not, but worse teams have won or at least made it to the Cup Finals.

With Bergeron and Marchand not getting any younger, their window has shortened to win one more ring in Boston together probably runs through the end of the 22-23 season. So what should Don Sweeney do? There are probably two realistic paths he can choose to take leading up to the March 21st deadline.

Option 1: Go all in on the Bergeron/Marchand window while it remains open.

· This is probably the option most fans will be calling for. By now you definitely have heard the names available. Tomas Hertl. Jakob Chychrun, JT Miller, Claude Giroux. Sweeney could make his 2022 first round pick available along with prospects Mason Lohrei and/or Fabian Lysell and put together a competitive offer for any of the top targets available. Adding an elite 2nd line center like one of the three mentioned above immediately vaults Boston into top 5 contender status.

Option 2: Make smaller adds along the periphery and hope for the best

· Let’s be honest, the last 5 years or so of drafting by the Bruins has left a lot to be desired. The prospect pipeline is mostly junk. They have either traded their firsts (Rick Nash/dumping David Backes), or made questionable picks that just haven’t worked out (Zboril, Debrusk, Senyshyn, Frederic, Beecher). They’ve had basically zero success outside the first round drafting impact forwards. Sweeney may look to make a series of smaller deals, maybe acquiring a player who can be had for a smaller cost. The Bruins Stanley Cup odds probably won’t get much better, but they’d still be a tough out for anyone and capable of making a run.

So, which would I choose?

This hurts, as there is no player who deserves having a GM go all in for them in their final years more than Patrice Bergeron, but the only smart option for this organization is #2. I tried to say it as nicely as possible, but the fact of the matter is the Bruins prospect pool is terrible. There is a real case to be made that outside of Lysell and Lohrei (and perhaps Brett Harrison), not a single prospect projects to be anything other than a bottom 6 forward or bottom pair defenseman. That’s just not good enough if they plan on being competitive as they transition into the McAvoy/Pastrnak era. Developing players like Lohrei and Lysell into NHL regulars is crucial.

By no means am I suggesting that the Bruins stand pat and do nothing. While the prospect pool is thin, the Bruins are not totally devoid of tradable assets. Jake Debrusk can be swapped or another player or asset in any potential deal. Urho Vaakanainen has looked like an NHL regular when healthy. Jack Studnicka probably has some value. There will be players available, like Max Domi or Andrew Copp, who are talented enough to be impact additions while also not costing anywhere near the price of a JT Miller or Giroux. Sweeney needs to get creative and try to replicate his 2019 trade deadline. Charlie Coyle and Marcus Johansson certainly weren’t the sexiest names available, but they fit perfectly and fortified the team’s depth without breaking the bank. That team ended up coming within one game of a Stanley Cup title. Don Sweeney would be best served following this path and hoping for that same magic.