Boston, sitting sixth in the Atlantic Division with a 27-23-6 record and 60 points in 56 games, is currently outside of the postseason picture, one point behind the Detroit Red Wings in the Eastern Conference’s wild-card race.
Speaking after the Bruins’ 3-2 loss against the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Sweeney acknowledged the team’s issues and implied Boston may not necessarily be buyers this time.
“It’s been a little unique for us this year, getting out of the gate not as fast as we would like. We’re in the middle of things,” Sweeney said, via WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin. “It’s a tough exercise to sort of play both sides of the street, but that’s almost every year what a general manager is required to do—test what’s out there, what’s available, and how you can improve.”
Three weeks ago, on Jan. 16, Bruins president Can Neely said that the Bruins had yet to decide which position to take ahead of the deadline.
“I think right now we’ve got to look at two paths,” Neely said. “One that we’re buying. One that we may be retooling a little bit. We still feel like we’ve got a playoff team here. We certainly don’t want to jeopardize getting out of the playoffs because we made some moves that may be good for the future but not good for the present.”
If Boston continues to struggle and decides to sell, the Bruins have a few pending free agents that could attract interest among contenders looking to bolster their lineups ahead of the playoffs.
Among those are Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau, Morgan Geekie, and Parker Wotherspoon, as well as team captain Brad Marchand.
According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, discussing Marchand’s situation in Boston amid the team’s struggling season on the Jan. 31 episode of the “32 Thoughts” podcast, the veteran forward could be moved.
“If Boston takes on water, I’m really going to be curious to see where this goes,” Friedman said. “There was a time in this year where I didn’t think there was a chance that Marchand was going to be out, and I think now it’s not as certain depending on what happens here.”
