Going into Thursday night's game against the Nashville Predators, it was a huge game in several ways for the Boston Bruins. It was the final game before the trade deadline at 3 p.m. EST on Friday, and it was likely going to point general manager Don Sweeney in a direction at the deadline.
Boston entered the game against a team that was trading off pieces already and had a lot of young players in the lineup. Nashville was ripe for the taking, and it should be an easy two points in the back of the Black and Gold's pocket before boarding a flight and heading back to Boston. Instead of that happening, Boston came out and laid an embarrassing egg in a 6-3 loss that should seal their trade deadline path.
Bruins embarrassing effort against Nashville should point to Don Sweeney selling
Sure, everyone would love to see the Bruins make the playoffs this year. It would be a cute story after they sold at the deadline last year, fleeced the Toronto Maple Leafs, and bounced back in Year 1 of a retool to get into the postseason. However, after watching that performance, how can Don Sweeney and Cam Neely justify making many moves, if any, on Friday? They can't.
The Predators entered the game 29th out of 32 teams defensively, and they sold several players off before the game. All they did was hold Boston to three goals, and after a four-goal second period from Nashville, buried the Black and Gold. They looked like the Boston Bruins last year, around and after the deadline, an uninspired performance from the drop of the puck.
How bad was the second period? A bad turnover from David Pastrnak on a 4-on-3 power play led to a Predators goal. Yeah that right, they allowed a 4-on-3 shorthanded goal. They then allowed three goals in over a four-minute span to dig themselves into a four-goal deficit. Game. Set. Match.
If you have been paying attention, you know just how much of a seller's market it is. This is not the year for Sweeney to buy, given the high price for players. This Bruins team is not a threat to win a playoff series. Heck, they might not be a threat to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the wild-card race, especially with the way they are playing on the road.
It is Sweeney's best interest to see what he can get for players like Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke. Would someone take Casey Mittlestadt off your hands? It might be best to hold onto Matthew Poitras and maybe use him as trade bait in the offseason to make a bigger move then. Not now. Also, hold onto the draft picks. Nothing is worth moving one right now.
The truth of the matter is this: Boston is in a retool and just one year into it. They are not a team that is a threat to win a postseason series. If they made the playoffs, it would be a fun story. However, the long-term outlook is what Sweeney needs to protect. Thursday night's performance told us that this team is still a long way away from putting the front office in a position to buy. The message sent by the players should have been heard loud and clear by the front office. Now we'll see what happens on Friday.