Assuming the Bruins will indeed be sellers, I think it’s worth considering what the pass/fail expectations should be on Sweeney around the deadline. I would list them as follows:
Frederic – must be either re-signed on a reasonable deal or, my strong preference, traded. Probably for a return that includes a 2nd round pick or similar. He can’t be allowed to linger and then just walk away for nothing. He just can’t.
Marchand – depends where you sit on how much control he should have over his own future. But if you’re in the business/team comes first no matter what camp, then the argument is pretty strong at this point that he should be traded, even if the hope is to get him back in the offseason. Alternatively though if he’s promptly re-signed on a reasonable deal before the deadline I don’t think you can argue too much with that. It’s special to be a one-club player.
At least one of Carlo and Coyle should be gone, ideally both. Carlo has more value – good contract, proven record as an excellent shut down defender with a lot of playoff experience. But also injury prone and having a down year. How much will other teams be willing to overlook those factors? Coyle is overpaid but at least he now only has a year left on his deal. Has a patchy playoff record, but has shown solid middle 6 performance over extended periods of time and has versatility. Surely there would be at least some interest. I really don’t know if you can expect a 1st for either guy at this point, but a 2nd and/or some good younger player with room for growth should at least be in the return.
Brazeau and Wotherspoon – trade if you can get any sort of value for them, but not too fussed really. More attached to Parker as I think he’s a solid depth defender.
Start playing more of the kids. It’s bad enough that hasn’t happened already outside of Potts and Mason, it really needs to occur more from now on. Not optional.
I think that’s about it. There’s zero risk of Don doing something nuclear like trading Sway, IMO. There are a few others who could be traded (Peeke?) but I don’t think it moves the needle too much either way if they are or aren’t. Lohrei I’d stick with and no-one fancying a playoff run is taking a kid who’s still that error-prone in his own end anyway. Geekie should be kept unless the return is huge.
Bottom line is minimum expectations are that the Bruins should come out of the deadline with Frederic sorted or moved, some extra draft picks including a couple of 2nds at the very least or alternatively good younger players with solid upside, some cleared cap space, and the likes of Lysell and Merkulov getting more ice time in Boston. Miss on any of those and IMO Sweeney can justly be criticised for it. We’ll see what happens.
Frederic – must be either re-signed on a reasonable deal or, my strong preference, traded. Probably for a return that includes a 2nd round pick or similar. He can’t be allowed to linger and then just walk away for nothing. He just can’t.
Marchand – depends where you sit on how much control he should have over his own future. But if you’re in the business/team comes first no matter what camp, then the argument is pretty strong at this point that he should be traded, even if the hope is to get him back in the offseason. Alternatively though if he’s promptly re-signed on a reasonable deal before the deadline I don’t think you can argue too much with that. It’s special to be a one-club player.
At least one of Carlo and Coyle should be gone, ideally both. Carlo has more value – good contract, proven record as an excellent shut down defender with a lot of playoff experience. But also injury prone and having a down year. How much will other teams be willing to overlook those factors? Coyle is overpaid but at least he now only has a year left on his deal. Has a patchy playoff record, but has shown solid middle 6 performance over extended periods of time and has versatility. Surely there would be at least some interest. I really don’t know if you can expect a 1st for either guy at this point, but a 2nd and/or some good younger player with room for growth should at least be in the return.
Brazeau and Wotherspoon – trade if you can get any sort of value for them, but not too fussed really. More attached to Parker as I think he’s a solid depth defender.
Start playing more of the kids. It’s bad enough that hasn’t happened already outside of Potts and Mason, it really needs to occur more from now on. Not optional.
I think that’s about it. There’s zero risk of Don doing something nuclear like trading Sway, IMO. There are a few others who could be traded (Peeke?) but I don’t think it moves the needle too much either way if they are or aren’t. Lohrei I’d stick with and no-one fancying a playoff run is taking a kid who’s still that error-prone in his own end anyway. Geekie should be kept unless the return is huge.
Bottom line is minimum expectations are that the Bruins should come out of the deadline with Frederic sorted or moved, some extra draft picks including a couple of 2nds at the very least or alternatively good younger players with solid upside, some cleared cap space, and the likes of Lysell and Merkulov getting more ice time in Boston. Miss on any of those and IMO Sweeney can justly be criticised for it. We’ll see what happens.
