When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had a fire sale at the trade deadline last March, it was a mixed bag of results in terms of players traded away. It was surprising to see Brad Marchand go to the Florida Panthers and Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the returns in those deals made it worth it.
As far as Trent Frederic goes, it wasn't surprising to see the Bruins trade him. He was going to be a free agent over the summer, and Sweeney was not going to re-sign him. Instead, he moved him, and despite it being the underwhelming package, the Black and Gold moved on from him without losing him for nothing.
Sweeney sent him to a good situation with the Edmonton Oilers. Going to the defending Western Conference champs, Frederic was able to be part of their second straight run to the Stanley Cup Final before falling for the second straight year to the Panthers. When the season ended, the Oilers front office had a decision to make, and it isn't looking like a good one right now.
Former Bruins forward Trent Frederic scratched by Oilers
Edmonton signed Frederic to an eight-year contract with an AAV of $3.85 million a year. It wasn't surprising that the Oilers re-signed him. What was surprising was the length. Eight years? Yikes. As it turns out, it is going to be a long eight years for Edmonton with Frederic.
So far in 41 games this season, the former first-round pick in the 2016 Entry Draft has two goals and three points with a plus/minus of minus-10, while averaging just 11:06 a night. Not what the Oilers were signing up for. However, after struggling and being consistent for the Bruins during his time in Boston, it's not surprising to Black and Gold fans.
It was announced on Tuesday that Frederic is a healthy scratch, along with Andrew Mangiapane, for the Oilers game against the Nashville Predators at home. This is not the first time that Frederic has been a healthy scratch, and he was under former coach Bruce Cassidy with the Bruins.
This so far has been a disaster of a deal for the Oilers, and there are no signs of things getting better. It's a tough deal that the front office will have a very hard time moving if they decide to go that route. Frederic does have the second half of the season to turn things around, but as Boston fans found out, that is easier said than done. The trade by Sweeney looks better by the day.