When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney went free-agent shopping last summer, he thought he hit it big with forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov. As it turns out, both players have underperformed this season, like most of the roster.
At the trade deadline, Sweeney traded long-time franchise faces Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, and Charlie Coyle as a signal that the Bruins are punting on the 2024-25 season. As they begin a five-game road trip Thursday night against former coach Bruce Cassidy and the Vegas Golden Knights, they are five points out of a playoff berth too many teams they need to climb over.
That means Boston's GM will need to strike it rich in free agency, which is easier said than done. A former Bruins coach and NHL analyst said what we all knew about the roster this season.
Mike Millbury puts Don Sweeney on blast about what the Bruins need this summer
Millbury joined the Greg Hill Show on WEEI Thursday and talked about the Boston roster and what it is and what they need going forward, whether talent is added through free agency or if Sweeney needs to get creative in a trade.
"They have role players and they have some guys that can be effective in the bottom-six of the lineup,'' Millbury said. "(Morgan) Geekie looks like he's having a heck of a year. (He) looks like he could be a top-six forward along with (David Pastrnak), but there's a void in the high-end talent and talent positions. That's where you need to fill that void in order to become competitive. You can't go with role players and you need guys that are game changers and they don't have enough.''
Well, that last part is certainly an understatement. Not enough game-changers? That could have been filled by guys lost in free agency like Jake DeBrusk or targeting another forward other than Lindholm. Zadorov has played better lately, but his parade to the penalty box has been frustrating.
If Sweeney is going to add through free agency, then he's going to have to find better players than he did last year. He usually has some luck in free agency, but that wasn't the case last July. This summer he can't afford to sign more "role" players if that ends up being the case, well you're looking at another season next year like this one and it won't sit well with the core players that he plans on building around. This retool needs to be fast and not dragged out over multiple years.
This was the case before the trade deadline, the Bruins didn't have enough game-changers. Sweeney didn't trade one and they still have the same problem with the roster makeup.