The Boston Bruins came out of Thanksgiving break on fire, winning five of seven. They followed that seven-game stretch with another, this time losing six, and each of their last five. It should be noted that the Bruins are nowhere near out of the playoff picture, just one point behind the Florida Panthers (who have played 2 fewer games), but it doesn't feel like this Bruins team, now essentially fully healthy, has what it takes to make a run.
Without further ado, here are the three players I would be moving on from if I were Don Sweeney.
Joonas Korpisalo, G
Joonas Korpisalo was serviceable for a backup last year, putting up a record of 11-10-3 with an .893 Sv% and a 2.90 GAA. Unfortunately, all of those numbers moved in the wrong direction this year, culminating in him getting pulled against his former team, the Ottawa Senators, in what should have been a much-needed night off for Jeremy Swayman. For a more in-depth breakdown on Korpisalo, check out my colleague, Nate Duffett's article here.
To me, the biggest stain for Korpisalo is that his being here caused a roster spot to be taken away from Brandon Bussi, who is dominating in Carolina (12-1-1 with a .912 and 2.10) after the Bruins let him walk. Korpisalo is under contract with the Bruins for two more seasons after this year, and they can retain enough money to knock his AAV down to $1.5 million per year to help sweeten the deal. Michael DiPietro is waiting in the wings in Providence with a record of 10-4-0 with a SV% of .933 and GAA of 1.97, so the Bruins have someone ready to go if they move on from Korpisalo.
Mason Lohrei, D
I really wanted to see Mason Lohrei succeed with the Bruins. His upside is solid, and the offensive skill is clearly there, but there are too many holes. He can't run the power play consistently, and often makes poor decisions with the puck in the defensive zone that immediately lead to goals. Bruins Head Coach, Marco Sturm, already benched Lohrei for multiple games earlier this season, and the performance just isn't there.
He's still young and can develop, but if he were going to do it with the Bruins, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, and even Nikita Zadorov (to a certain degree) all impact the offense from the defensive position, and what it feels like right now is that the Bruins need a lockdown guy on the back end. Lohrei simply isn't that guy.
Viktor Arvidsson, F
Viktor Arvidsson is the only player on this list that A) I would be happy to see stay and B) shouldn't be traded due to poor performance. Arvidsson will be a free agent at the end of this season, and the Bruins traded for him knowing that he would potentially be moved at the deadline. When healthy, Arvidsson is a more than viable middle-six scorer, with a 7-8-15 stat line in 27 games this season. That is more than half of his point total last season with a dominant team in Edmonton in less than half the games played.
I would like to see Arvidsson stick around, but if the Bruins aren't competitive this season, I think it would be best to try and get what you can for him before the deadline to help bring in assets for the future.