Things could certainly be better for the Bruins, who began Friday morning in a playoff spot by the skin of their teeth, and they very might well be after two straight wins (and against quality opponents). But they could also get worse between now and the 2025 NHL trade deadline, and that’s something that Bruins president Cam Neely addressed Wednesday night.

“I think, right now, we’ve gotta look at two paths: one that we’re buying and one that we may just be retooling a little bit,” Neely, addressing the media before a gala for the Bruins Foundation, acknowledged. “We still feel like we’ve got a playoff team here and we certainly don’t want to jeopardize getting out of the playoffs because we made some moves that may be good for the future, but not good for the present.”

Given where the Bruins are in the standings — they’re currently in a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and with countless teams biting at their heels — this is not a shocking statement. At the same time, though, it is a shocking statement in the sense that this is the Bruins we’re talking about, and that it’s coming from a member of a front office that has not actively ‘sold’ at the deadline in almost 20 years.

Of course, Neely didn’t outright say ‘sell’ but it’s clear what a ‘retool’ would mean for the Bruins at the deadline. And even then, a ‘retool’ would be the opposite of what this team has done for years now, with the Bruins being some variation of buyers throughout Don Sweeney‘s tenure as general manager.

For the Bruins, it’s easy to look at the club’s pending free agents and start there. Up front, team captain Brad Marchand and third-line forward Trent Frederic are the obvious ‘top-tier’ pending unrestricted free agents in house. The former feels like a lock, while the latter feels like anybody’s guess at this point. Beyond those two, the club will also have to make a call on fellow pending UFAs like winger Justin Brazeau and defenseman Parker Wotherspoon, while Morgan Geekie and Oliver Wahlstrom are notable pending restricted free agents facing a potentially uncertain future with the B’s.

But a ‘retool’ in Boston could also mean the Bruins taking some of their players with term and parlaying them into a bigger ‘hockey trade’ to help both the present and future.

A quick glance there and there’s some notable ‘secondary’ types that could be on borrowed time in Boston for one reason or another, be it middle-six forward Charlie Coyle (making $5.25 million through next season and approaching 33 years old) or even defensemen like Brandon Carlo ($4.1 million through 2026-27) or Andrew Peeke ($2.75 million through next season).

No matter how you slice it, the Bruins seem ripe for some sort of change from what’s become the deadline norm in these parts (especially over the last seven years or so), and everything is on the table.

Neely’s admission that ‘retooling’ could be an option comes amid what’s been a season that has not met their own expectations, and with Neely also acknowledging that may fall on more than just his players.

“This year has been a little frustrating because we honestly felt that coming out of the offseason, we had a better team than what we’ve shown on the ice, [but] maybe that’s the product of us overvaluing what we have,” said Neely.

As it stands now, the Bruins have a 62 percent chance of missing the playoffs according to PlayoffStatus.com, though MoneyPuck.com’s model likes them significantly better, giving Boston a 53 percent chance of qualifying for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The NHL trade deadline is March 7.

Join the Discussion: » 1 Comments » Post New Comment

» Bruins make five moves ahead of tilt vs. Bolts

» 4 thoughts as Bruins begin new week

» B's slide hits four with OT loss to Islanders

» Bruins fall to Maple Leafs for third straight loss

» Bruins sign Mark Kastelic to multi-year extension