Last Wednesday night, the Boston Bruins held their 2025 Black and Gold Gala. That night, CEO Charlie Jacobs and team President Cam Neely spoke to the media about the struggles their hockey team has been going through just past the halfway point of the 2024-25 season.
While Jacobs gave his full support to GM Don Sweeney and Neely, the latter said that the front office must have two plans at the trade deadline on March 7. It certainly feels like they are being stubborn about making any big changes currently and still believe in the current roster.
Three days after saying that they were going to look at a couple of paths over the next six weeks, their team did them no favors in pointing them in a direction. They showed up against the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre and dug themselves a 2-0 deficit with a lackluster start, which there was no excuse for after three full days off. To their credit, they battled back and took a 5-3 third-period lead, only to allow two goals, including the game-tying strike with 12 seconds left in what turned into a 6-5 shootout loss.
After that loss, they fell out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot for the first time since Nov. 30 and the hole got deeper with the Sens beating the New Jersey Devils, 2-1, on Sunday afternoon. The recent struggles and play are sending a clear signal to the front office, sell at the trade deadline.
Bruins front office should sell at the trade deadline
If we're being honest, this edition of the Boston Bruins just isn't good enough. They are far from being a contender this season and if they even get into the playoffs, they are a first-round exit waiting to happen. Honestly, is this team good enough to win a seven-game first-round series? It's more like a team that gets swept or loses in five.
The finger-pointing for the season that the Black and Gold is having stems from the front office. It was a poor free agency when Sweeney had a lot of money to spend and dished out huge contracts to Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov. Those deals are looking worse by the day. Do you think they wished they made a bigger effort to re-sign Jake DeBrusk?
Sure, you can point to the Jeremy Swayman contract issue that hovered over them all during the summer and training camp that forced him to miss all of camp. He agreed to a deal two days before the season opener. It's easy to say his struggles this season are because he missed and it very well may be that, but both sides digging in as long as they did was not great.
Look at the teams around the Bruins in the standings. The Columbus Blue Jackets, who won two of the three meetings this season against the Black and Gold, and the wins were convincing blowouts, are better than Boston while it feels like Sweeney woke up a sleeping giant in Ottawa with the trade of Linus Ullmark there last June. Right now, they are better than the Bruins and playing like it.
It's time for the front office to come to the realization that this isn't the year to be considered a contender. Not even close. It's time to sell. I'm not calling for an all-out sell, but more of a retool. Take advantage of some players who teams might be interested in and move them, especially if they are unlikely to return next season. Morgan Geekie, Justin Brazeau, or Trent Frederic anyone? There was interest in some of them earlier this year and there likely still is.
The front office wants to have two paths ready, but it's clear that only one is needed. It's only a matter of time before more teams below them in the standings go past them making the climb out even tougher. The retool that the Bruins have been fearing is here and it's time. Now the only question is, does Sweeney and Neely realize it?