On Wednesday, the Boston Bruins boarded their charter flight to Nashville for Thursday night's game against the Predators. The Bruins picked up their 11th straight win at the TD Garden on Tuesday night with a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. They are three points clear of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
The trade deadline is Friday at 3 p.m. EST, and there are going to be rumors involving the Black and Gold right up until the deadline. You can bet that the locker room is hearing the rumors, whether they want to admit it or not. How is head coach Marco Sturm handling the rumors while trying to get his team to win on the ice?
“To keep everything the same as much as possible, starting with me coaching, everything. Just treat it like every other day. That’s not in my control, that’s out of the players’ control, that’s all upstairs. If something is going to happen, it’s going to happen. That’s part of the business,” said Sturm. “My job is to just keep it the same as much as I can. We don’t even talk about it, I don’t mention it to any players, don’t have meetings about it. I stay out of it because it’s not my job.”
After what happened last trade deadline with the moves made by general manager Don Sweeney, fans should expect the unexpected when it comes to the Black and Gold.
Maple Leafs scratch potential trade candidates
For the first time in a while, the Toronto Maple Leafs appear to be sellers at the trade deadline. Last year, they bought and were fleeced by Sweeney when they acquired Brandon Carlo from the Bruins for a package that included a first-round draft pick, top 5 protected this year, and prospect Fraser Minten.
Wednesday night, the Maple Leafs were in New Jersey to play the Devils, another team that is going to be sellers. According to insider Elliotte Friedman, Toronto scratched Scott Laughton and Oliver Ekman-Larsson with the deadline less than 48 hours away. Do with that what you will. The Leafs are going to be a team to watch.
Bruins linked to a number of players
As the deadline appraoches, the Bruins, as usual, are linked to a lot of players. It remains to be seen which become reality. Maybe not many. Whether it's Roberth Thomas of the St. Louis Blues, Connor Garland of the Vancouver Canucks or defenseman Simon Nemec of the New Jersey Devils, the names are endless. However, if a deal is going to get done with any of the names mentioned above or another big move, it's going to require young talent going the other way, like Matthew Poitras? We'll see.