Since the season began, there has been interest in Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic through the trade market. One of the reasons why is because he is going to be a free agent following this season and it's a given that GM Don Sweeney would re-sign the 2016 first-round pick.
Saturday night before the Bruins' 5-1 win over the Vancouver Canucks on the road, Elliotte Friedman reported on his Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada that teams are calling Sweeney about the rugged forward. It leads you to wonder if there might be a deal done ahead of the trade deadline in March.
Bruins reportedly receiving calls on Trent Frederic
During his Bruins career, the former University of Wisconsin standout, who was a surprise first-round selection eight years ago, has played in 312 games for the Black and Gold with 52 goals and 53 assists. He had career-highs in goals with 18, assists with 22, and points with 40 in 2023-24. This season, however, he has five goals and six assists with a plus/minus of minus-13. Here is what Friedman said Saturday night,
"I've been around long enough to know that what's true today may not be true tomorrow when it comes to contract negotiations, so I'm not going to handicap it," Friedman added. "The Bruins are getting a lot of calls, 'What are you thinking here? Will you keep him? Will he be available?' He's a guy that's definitely got a lot of interest."
There is one problem facing not only Sweeney but the rest of the league. From Dec. 20-27, the NHL trade freeze kicks in where no deals can be completed, which would mean if something gets done, it needs to get done in the next five days. Just what the return would be is anyone's guess, but as currently constructed, Boston has several Frederic-type forwards who just are not getting it done.
It would be very surprising if Frederic re-signed with the Bruins next summer or before and if there is a market for him, Sweeney should jump if the package is right. Boston picked up Oliver Wahlstrom off of waivers from the New York Islanders and if they are going to make a run for a postseason berth, getting a piece back in return that is impactful for Frederic is the route that Sweeney should go sooner rather than later.