Boston Bruins: Grading the 2019 and 2020 trade deadline deals
By Scott Roche
Two trades with the Ducks did not work out as the Bruins had hoped.
Last February, Sweeney made two trades with the Anaheim Ducks. In the first deal, he acquired Ondrej Kase for David Backes, defensive prospect Axel Andersson and the Bruins 2020 first-round draft pick.
Sweeney was hoping Kase would solve the Black and Gold’s scoring problems on the second line right wing. In 49 games last season for Anaheim before the trade, he had seven goals and 16 assists, but missed the final two weeks leading up to the trade deadline because of an illness.
It was easy to see why Sweeny traded for the 24-year old. He has a ton of potential and the talent is there to be a point producer. It was a case of bad timing for Kase and the Bruins. He only appeared in six regular-season games with one assist before the league paused in March.
In the Return to Play over the summer, Kase had trouble getting on the ice with the new protocols in place, but once he made it on the ice, he had a better playoff showing than the regular season. He had four assists in 11 playoff games, but there were flashes of what he could be with more time under his belt.
The second trade with the Ducks was a swap of forwards with Nick Ritchie coming to Boston and Heinen going out West. Ritchie was brought in to add a physical presence that the front office thought the team was lacking.
He brought a physical presence, but maybe too much of a physical presence. He had one goal and one assist in seven games following the trade, but he disappointed in the playoffs.
He had one goal in eight games, but he was too physical and ended up taking some untimely penalties. The 6-foot-2, 230-pound 24-year old’s five-minute boarding call against Yanni Gourde of the Tampa Bay Lightning was the penalty the broke the camels back in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
The Lightning scored a late power play goal to extend to a 3-0 lead in the game at the end of the second period on their way to a 3-1 win and a commanding 3-1 series lead.
Next. Bruins: Grading the 2019-20 season of Bergeron. dark
Both players deserve another shot with the Bruins beginning this season, but if the returns are anything like their first go-around, it could end up being two of Sweeney’s worst deals.