The Boston Bruins are hanging onto the fourth and final playoff berth in the newly realigned East Division with 22 games remaining in the 56-game shortened 2021 regular season.
By no means are the Bruins a lock for the postseason, sitting just three points ahead of both the Philadelphia Flyers and New York Rangers. If Boston is going to survive that Flyers and Rangers and get into the playoffs, upgrades to the roster by the April 12 trade deadline at 3 p.m. is necessary.
It’s no secret that the Black and Gold can use an upgrade at forward and on defense. Secondary scoring has been an issue for years now that general manager Don Sweeney has tried to address without much luck. Last season in February of 2020, Sweeney acquired Ondrej Kase and Nick Ritchie from the Anaheim Ducks in two separate trades.
Last season before the March 12 shutdown because of the coronavirus pandemic, both players did not have enough time to get any chemistry with their new teammates. Fast forward nearly five months later to the Toronto playoff bubble and things did not get any better for either player or the Bruins.
This offseason, Sweeney’s biggest free-agent splash was bringing in forward Craig Smith from the Nashville Predators, but to date, the right wing has only four goals. Not exactly what Sweeney or the Bruins were expecting from Smith, who was a 20-goal scorer in five of his nine years with the Predators.
If Boston is going to finish in the fourth spot in the East Division and be a playoff team in mid-May, a trade by Sweeney needs to happen by April 12 to address needs for a Bruins team that is seeing the championship window closing with their core players sooner rather than later.