With every passing day, we are getting closer and closer to the March 7 NHL trade deadline. One team that has questions as to the path they are going to take is the Boston Bruins. Sitting one point from the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot, it certainly feels like a season where it's not in the cards to be a contender and it's time for a retool of some kind.
Usually, at this time of the year, teams that are in the Bruins' position will look to dump some expiring contracts. If the Bruins were able to do that this year, they could open potential roster spots for some of the younger players down in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins. If they do go that route, here are three expiring contracts GM Don Sweeney should look to dump by 3 p.m. ET on March 7.
Trent Frederic
This one goes without saying. The Trent Frederic experiment in Boston feels like it has run its course. He has been up-and-and the last couple of seasons and in 2024-25 when the Black and Gold needed him more than ever after posting career-highs last season, he has been a major disappointment. Not just in his production, but his overall play.
Drafted in the first round in the 2016 Entry Draft, Frederic never has lived up to expectations of a first-round pick and it's not his fault either that Sweeney swung and missed with yet another first-round pick. He has been generating some trade buzz as far back as the beginning of the season and he is a player that the writing is on the wall for next season that he'll not be back with the Bruins. He is a depth piece that a lot of postseason teams will want to add and now is the time to move him.
Justin Brazeau
Coming last season and making the impression he did, Justin Brazeau turned into a Bruins fan favorite with his style of play. A banger who is never afraid to check anything that moves, he surprised a lot of people, and maybe even himself, with some production at the bottom of the lineup.
He carried that over to this year and believe it or not, he kept the Bruins power play production afloat for a while with some goals from in front of the net. He scored in Fabian Lysell's NHL debut in December in a 4-0 Boston win over the Columbus Blue Jackets when he benefitted from a good forecheck from Lysell that ended up with Brazeau scoring. As good as he has been the last two seasons and showing flashes, he is a fourth-line piece for a contender with his style of play.
Cole Koepke
Early in the season, the signing of Cole Koepke looked like a pretty good one as a fourth-line forward when he joined John Beecher and Mark Kastelic, but as always is the case, it didn't last long before he started to fall out of the lineup under former coach Jim Montgomery and interim coach Joe Sacco.
He has seven goals and 12 points with a plus/minus of plus-9, but the longer-term outlook isn't a great fit in Boston. If he comes back next season, he'll be another player blocking a younger player. He is someone a postseason team would use as an extra forward for a best-of-seven series.
Moving Brazeau and Koepke is for the purpose of opening up roster spots for younger players to get some NHL time ahead of next season. Again, there is no clear path yet for the Bruins on March 7, but if there is a season to unload some contracts, it's this season.