As the trade deadline came and went, it ended up being a quiet one for the Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney. Two minor moves added depth to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) for their Calder Cup run.
It really wasn't surprising the lack of moves from Sweeney and the Bruins. He was dropping hints earlier in the week. They are playing with house money this year in their retool, and if they can make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, then great. If not, it'll hurt for a while, but this should be considered a big step in their retooling with a promising future ahead. On Sunday, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe wrote about a potential asking deal from the New York Rangers for center Vincent Trocheck. Let's just say, Sweeeny passing was a no-brainer.
"Multiple sources noted Friday evening, when all the deadline shaking and baking came to an end, Rangers GM Chris Drury rightly shot high on Trocheck, which could have had him asking Sweeney for Fraser Minten and a first-round draft pick, or perhaps Minten, Mark Kastelic, and a first- or second-rounder,'' wrote Dupont.
Yeah, that's a hard pass if I've ever seen one. There is no reason whatsoever to deal with Fraser Minten or even think about it.
Jon Cooper doesn't expect a long Maple Leafs playoff absence
After beating the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-2, on Saturday night to hand them a seventh straight loss out of the Olympic break, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper didn't beat around the bush about Toronto being down for a long time.
"This is probably gonna be a one-off for them because they've got a good group,'' said Cooper.
Boston is hoping that the NHL Draft Lottery goes their way this year as they own Toronto's first-round pick if it's outside the Top 5.
Riley Tufte continues to lead P-Bruins in goals
The beat went on for the P-Bruins on Sunday, who picked up their 41st win of the season in dramatic fashion. Tied 4-4 with the Hershey Bears, Riley Tufte scored his team-leading 25th goal of the season with 48 seconds left. Also scoring for Providence were Joey Abate, Christian Wolanin, Matej Blumel, and Jake Schmaltz. Michael DiPietro made 24 saves on 28 shots.