It has been three weeks since it appeared that the Boston Bruins thought they were closing in on a big trade. In the middle of January, it was reported that the Bruins and Calgary Flames were in deep talks in a trade that would have sent defenseman Rasmus Andersson to Boston.
However, there was a hang-up that put things on hold. The Flames' asking price was through the roof for Andersson, but it wasn't a deal that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney didn't want to pay the price for without an extension in place. You can't blame him. In a recent interview with Sportnet, Andersson explained how things went, and it was he who decided the extension talks were ending.
Former Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson shutdown extension talks with Bruins
There were conflicting reports as to which side forced with side to walk away from extension talks. Andersson gave his side in an interview with Eric Francis after being traded to the Vegas Golden Knights.
"The offer came in with a few parts adjusted I didn’t like with trade protection, and then there was another three days of hearing nothing,” said Andersson.
“It was a mental grind for me for three days. You keep checking your phone, and wondering when it’s going to happen, and then I woke up Sunday, and I was like, ‘I can’t do this anymore, I have to focus on myself and not everything around me.’ I was still pretty proud of the way I played those two games, but on Sunday (Jan. 18), we told them, ‘let’s hold off on all extension talks right now.’”
Based on these comments, it appears that Sweeney did not want to get burned with a no-trade protection, and that is what basically killed the deal. Truth be told, it was a good move by Sweeney to put the ball in Andersson's court by not giving in. He has been burned before with protection, and he didn't want to go down that road again. Sweeney now has time to pivot next month by the deadline to his next target.