By: Brandon Murdock | Follow me on Twitter/X @Brandonmurdoc11
The National Hockey League Trade Deadline came to a close at 3 p.m. on Friday, essentially locking in every team’s roster for the rest of the season. While there was a lot of back-and-forth in the media and fanbase about what the team should do: make a big splash, sell, or stand pat, the team ultimately chose the latter by making just two minor moves.
The team made two deadline day moves, acquiring Alexis Gendron and Massimo Rizzo from the Philadelphia Flyers for Brett Harrison and Jackson Edward. They also traded with the Vancouver Canucks, sending a 2026 sixth-round pick to the Canucks for Lukas Reichel. This leaves the question: Was playing conservatively the right move?
This is a question only time will tell. But in the meantime, the team had two games over the weekend, winning 3-1 on Saturday against the Washington Capitals and dropping a 5-4 overtime decision to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday. The Penguins’ loss may be one we look back on at the end of the season as a missed opportunity if the team misses the playoffs by a narrow margin, as they blew 3-0 and 4-3 leads in the game.
While the sample size has been small, and the team continues its trends of winning at home and losing on the road, you still always want to see your decisions pay off right away. Despite this, I think Don Sweeney made the right call at the deadline for a second consecutive year.
The team is pushing for the playoffs, and the fanbase clearly wants the team to make a big splash to improve their odds. The only issue is that the price tags on a lot of the available players were astronomically high.
For example, Michael McCarron was traded to the Minnesota Wild and fetched a second-round pick in 2028 from the Nashville Predators. Very much an overpay. Robert Thomas, the 26-year-old first-line center that many wanted from the St Louis Blues, rumors had it that it would’ve cost at least a first-round pick, James Hagens, and another young player. While Thomas is a stud, giving in to that asking price would have been detrimental for the organization.
It wouldn’t have made sense for them to enter a similar fire-sale as last year, but it would have been nice to see what you could have gotten out of guys who are free agents at the end of the year. Those players being Andrew Peeke and Victor Arvidsson, who both could have returned some nice packages.
There have been rumors that these two and the Bruins have been talking about extensions, so that is most likely why no deal was made. All in all, the team decided to stay put at the deadline for the most part.
This is not the worst decision, as the team has shown that they can compete, so why not ride the wave that got you here, especially when this was considered a rebuilding year? It never made sense for the team to blow up a prospect/draft pool that they worked so hard to build for a guy that most likely won’t help you win for a few years. So, good work to Sweeney and the Bruins.
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