3 aggressive trades Boston Bruins should make this offseason feat. Linus Ullmark

By Ryan Gagne

Modified May 23, 2024 21:07 GMT

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The Boston Bruins have had the best record in the NHL since the start of the 2022-23 season at 102-22-20. However, the organization is just 9-11 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

At his end-of-season press conference, general manager Don Sweeney discussed the importance of re-signing Jeremy Swayman, retaining Linus Ullmark and putting together a contending team.

According to CapFriendly.com, when looking at the players under contract for 2024-25, the Bruins will have 10 forwards, six defensemen and one netminder on the books.

The deeper we look, six of those 17 players are to be eligible to be dealt since their contracts do not include trade protection. Those clauses won't necessarily stop Sweeney from seeking a deal, as he did with Ullmark at the past NHL trade deadline, only for the goalie to veto the transaction.

Right now, only David Pastrnak, Charlie Coyle, Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy have no movement clauses, meaning if Sweeney wishes to improve the team through trades, he'll have to get creative.

3 aggressive trades Boston Bruins should make this offseason

#3. Start the summer off with a bang at the NHL Entry Draft

One avenue Sweeney can pursue to boost the lineup is to make a deal or two at the NHL Entry Draft, a month away, on June 28-29 at the Sphere in Las Vegas. However, he's already dealt away the club's first three picks in the 2024 Entry Draft.

Don Sweeney, general manager of the Boston Bruins

As Boston prepares for the event, they don't make their first selection until the fourth round. Although Sweeney mentioned being aggressive, it is safe to say that he didn't mean at the entry draft.

So, he can begin re-tooling the organization and its depth chart by moving around on the draft board. By achieving that, he can trade some late-round picks to move up and include a prospect or two to sweeten a deal.

By going this route, the Bruins could also acquire a bottom-six forward from an organization with NHL-ready prospects yet to crack a lineup.

This route may not be the answer for the summer or the upcoming season, but with some veterans playing on expiring contracts in 2024-25, planning for the future also starts now.

#2. Trade Andrew Peeke

Sweeney acquired defenseman Andrew Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets at the NHL trade deadline. After just 15 games in the regular season, he got injured in the opening-round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs, skating just six playoff games.

Overall, Peeke played 21 games, collected two assists and had 13 shots on goal. As one of only four right-handed defensemen in the lineup, his most significant contributions were 31 blocked shots and 44 hits.

With two seasons left on his contract valued at $2.75 million, Sweeney could flip the 26-year-old for another defender since his contract has no trade protection. He could also flip the defenseman for a skater who can stay healthy and put up the numbers that Peeke used to, with close to 200 blocks and 200 hits.

In 38 games in 2023-24, he barely got to half of those totals. Despite a limited audition in Boston, Peeke could be an asset flipped to acquire a player who fits the win-now lineup better.

#1. Trade Linus Ullmark

In March, Sweeney struck a deal with the Los Angeles Kings to send Ullmark to Hollywood. However, thanks to the clauses in his contract, the Swedish-born netminder vetoed the agreement.

Linus Ullmark, Boston Bruins

The 2023 Vezina Trophy winner was the best goalie in the league two seasons ago and lost the crease to Swayman in the 2024 playoffs, making it seem that this chapter of his career is coming to a close.

A half dozen teams in the NHL need an elite goalie like Ullmark to push them closer to a championship. Even though his value isn't high this month compared to 12 months ago, Sweeney must explore all options when trading away Ullmark.

Eventually, Marchand will retire, and McAvoy will only continue to get older. While Pastrnak is still in his prime, the Bruins still lack another superstar player, like a true number-one center, to bring back the Stanley Cup to Boston.

Realistically, Sweeney is going to pursue all the top free agents. But he also has one of the most significant trade chips in his back pocket and would be wise to utilize it to keep the Bruins in the contender conversation.