The 4 Nations Face-Off is over and the 2024-25 season is back. After nearly two weeks, the Boston Bruins are back on the ice with a string of home games. They lost in overtime to the Anaheim Ducks on Feb. 22 and will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 25. The team returns though without star defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who suffered a shoulder injury during the tournament while playing for Team USA. They also remain without another top defenseman, Hampus Lindholm, who has been out since November and seems unlikely to return this season.
Related: 3 Bruins’ Priorities for Remainder of 2024-25 Season
The next big date on the NHL calendar is March 7, the trade deadline. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag for general manager Don Sweeney throughout his career. He has had some masterful moments, like the Taylor Hall addition in 2021 or the Tyler Bertuzzi trade in 2023. Both guys became impactful players and helpful additions in the playoffs. But Sweeney has also had his duds, like Rick Nash in 2018 and Ondrej Kase in 2020 (even if the main focus of that deal was getting rid of David Backes).
Last season, the Bruins had a pretty quiet trade deadline due to their lack of cap space. They should not be buyers again this season, given the performance they’ve shown on the ice in 2024-25.
Playoff Team vs. Legitimate Contender
The Bruins are tied for the longest active playoff streak in the NHL having made it to the postseason the last eight seasons. While they are currently sitting just outside of a spot, it doesn’t mean they won’t make it in when all is said and done.
Most playoff teams are usually buyers in some capacity at the trade deadline as they attempt to bulk up to make a run at the Stanley Cup in the postseason. Unfortunately for the Bruins, to state the obvious, it really doesn’t seem like a guarantee that the team will make it into the postseason, especially with losing their top defenseman for the foreseeable future. The uncertainty makes it a bit obvious that the team shouldn’t be buyers at the trade deadline.
But more than that, even if they still manage to get back into a playoff spot and want to get someone at the trade deadline to help them do so, I don’t think the cost would be worth it for the Bruins at this point. Yes, anything can happen in the NHL and there have been plenty of teams that just barely make the playoffs that manage to make a deep playoff run, but I don’t think the 2024-25…
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