BHN Daily: Neely, Bruins Plan To Be Active Before NHL Trade Deadline

On Wednesday, Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney said that the Bruins are willing to shake things up on the NHL Trade market to fix their struggling offense. With the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline a month from today, Bruins Team President Cam Neely reiterated that in an interview on WEEI. 

Neely also said that regardless of the shortened and strange season thanks to the pandemic, he and Sweeney are still approaching the NHL Trade Deadline like they would any other season and are motivated to help captain Patrice Bergeron and the Bruins’ aging core win another Stanley Cup.

“We look at this as the years are ticking off and we’ve got some players that have been very, very successful with us that are getting older and we want to try and achieve another Stanley Cup with some of this group here,” Neely said. “So, we’re looking at it just like that.”

One thing Neely, Sweeney, and the team brass are being careful of though is not to let the mounting injuries the team is suffering through cloud their judgment when it comes to assessing the Bruins lineup and needs. 

“The shortened season is like a spring to the playoffs,” Neely said. “You have to be careful because being this condensed, there are some injuries we have on the backend. Lauzon is still going to be out with his broken hand. Miller just got back on the ice; Carlo is still feeling some residual effects. So you have to be careful what you’re doing when you look at your lineup and say: ‘OK when we’re healthy what do we look like?’

So every team looks at their lineup every year no matter if it’s an 82-game schedule or 56 you have to really assess where you’re at. The deadline’s looming so we kind of have a good idea what we look like when our lineup’s healthy and we feel like we could use some help along the way and that’s what we’re going to try and do.”

Neely said that the Bruins are already honing in on teams that have essentially fallen out of the playoff picture. As Neely pointed out though, there is the major obstacle Canadian teams face when trading for players due to Canadian quarantine rules but for now, the Bruins are focused on teams ‘falling out of the playoffs’. 

“There are some challenges, especially with Canadian teams because the players that go into Canada have to quarantine for a couple of weeks,” Neely pointed out. “So, that makes it a little more challenging dealing with the Canadian teams because not only would they lose a player they trade but they also wouldn’t get the player for a couple of weeks that they acquired. So, that’s gonna be some kind of challenge for those teams. But there’s teams that you see now are starting to fall out of any chance of making the playoffs, so those are the teams you kind of focus on.” 

Now on to the rest of your BHN Links:

As the Boston Bruins’ offense has sputtered, Bruins fans have been clamoring for the team to recall rookie forward Zach Senyshyn and on Thursday they got their wish. My partner in crime Joe Haggerty has more on Senyshyn’s return and who he’ll play with tonight against the New York Rangers. (Boston Hockey Now)

Who are the Top 10 NHL Trade targets for the Bruins right now and how could they help the B’s make another Stanley Cup run? (Boston Hockey Now)

The Bruins are focused on winning this season but a year after the NHL and the world stopped due to COVID, they continue to keep things in perspective. (Boston Hockey Now)

Could the New York Rangers get Artemi Panarin back tonight at TD Garden? (NY Post)

Anaheim Ducks forward Rickard Rakell has been on fire lately and thanks to that he once again finds himself a hot commodity on the NHL Trade Market. Could Don Sweeney be trying to make his third deal with Ducks GM Bob Murray in just over a year? (TSN)

As nearly referenced, the Bruins are zeroing in on some of the teams that are falling out of contention and while they’ve been pesky and surprisingly good at times, the Ottawa Senators are one of those teams. (Ottawa Sun)

There were reports Wednesday that the San Jose Sharks were trying to void the contract of winger Evander Kane but late Wednesday night, the team refuted those reports and said they’re ‘100 percent committed’ to honor the remainder of the seven-year, $49 million contract they and Kane signed back in 2018. (The Score)

As we continue our Irish themed Murph’s Music Pick Of The Day, I give you another great Irish punk band from Canada that I’m also blessed to call friends, The Mahones: