Sweeney succeeds on two fronts
To assume the Bruins are all set for a return to the playoffs after a twoyear absence would be, of course, grossly premature. Given their fine recent play and their place in the standings — and barring the sort of late collapse that ruined last season — they appear to be in pretty good shape.
So here we were yesterday on NHL trade deadline day, with 19 games left in the regular season, and the B’s were well on their way to accomplishing their highly improbable, contradictory, two-pronged goal:
To rebuild through young prospects and the draft, and also remain a relevant, playoff-bound club.
Many observers around the NHL noted early this season that a team really couldn’t do both, not at the same time, since moves on both sides of the equation would frequently work against you.
Pick one plan or the other, many folks said, because you can’t do both.
Well, the Bruins have maybe pulled off a minimiracle. They go into tonight’s Garden visit by the New York Rangers holding on to a playoff berth, and they haven’t done anything to undermine the ongoing rebuild-through-youth plan.
General manager Don Sweeney yesterday swung a trade that was minor, but not insignificant. He acquired veteran right winger and regular Bruins killer Drew Stafford from Winnipeg in exchange for a conditional draft pick.
He added a piece that can help the present puzzle, and maybe help the aging veteran core of Zdeno Chara, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, etc. win again, and gave up only a tiny piece of the future to do it.
The Bruins of 2016-17 have far exceeded the expectations on-lookers in Boston and across the NHL had for them. This was generally seen as a team in rebuilding mode, with enough flaws (defense, experience) that returning to the playoffs was unlikely. The point was, it didn’t matter. What did matter was staying patient while Charlie McEvoy, Zach Senyshyn, Jake Zboril, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson and all the other names on the crowded list of prospects blossomed and became NHL-ready.
You lets guys like Johnny Boychuk and Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton walk away, well, then that’s the path you’ve chosen.
If the B’s miss the playoffs, owner Jeremy Jacobs might not be pleased about a third successive spring with no playoff cash, but the team would be on track for a bright future.
Instead, here we are with a team that’s 7-1-0 under interim coach Bruce Cassidy, was able to add a useful piece in Stafford and is playing well enough that playoff success seems entirely possible.
“I’m very happy with how our team has responded here,” said Sweeney shortly after finalizing the Stafford deal. “And I think that adding to the group continues to send the message that the group has played well.
“It’s not a big surprise that our core players are leading that charge. They want to win and they want to feel like they’re being supported. So that’s what the task was at this particular time — without taking away or breaking down what we’re doing now and want to do going forward.”
Sweeney’s unwillingness to be involved in a more substantial deal spoke to the B’s fine recent play and to the high cost of talent in a limited trade market.
“It’s a combination,” said the GM. “Our players have played well. We’ve had some players respond well to some situations they’ve been put in. And our core players . . . it’s not surprising the roles they’ve taken in the last little while. (We’re) trying to commit to them (with) a winning approach.
“But striking a (bigger) deal would be pretty difficult without sacrificing some of the things that we’re committed to.
“We laid out a plan and we’ve stayed committed to it.”
And for that, Sweeney and Co. should get a lot of credit, and a whole lot more if good things happen in the playoffs.
‘We laid out a plan and we’ve stayed committed to it.’ — DON SWEENEY Bruins general manager