Neely: Boston Bruins Can Still ‘Tinker’ Ahead Of Trade Deadline

Are the Boston Bruins done ahead of the NHL trade deadline after last week’s massive blockbuster deal that landed them Washington Capitals veterans Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway?

Basic common sense would say “no” since the Boston Bruins currently have a little over $300,000 in salary cap space and needed the Minnesota Wild to get involved simply to broker their last trade with the Capitals given their cap outlook. But Boston Bruins President Cam Neely left the door ajar for the B’s to make another move ahead of Friday, March 3 at 3 pm, a deal that would most likely shore up their forward depth after the recent move to bring in former first round pick Shane Bowers.

Neely indicated that they have some flexibility to make another move, but it would most likely need to involve the Bruins trading off somebody that’s been on the NHL roster this season whether it was Jakub Zboril, Mike Reilly or Jakub Lauko for a draft pick that would clear some money off the books. They also have traded a boatload of their draft picks over the last few seasons, which would really limit the ceiling on what kind of deal they could make.

“I’m still very happy with our group and where we’re at. We still have some time to maybe tinker. We’ll look at that,” said Boston Bruins President Cam Neely to NESN prior to Monday night’s game in Edmonton. “It’s a lot of gymnastics going on with the cap but we did give ourselves the opportunity to add if we wanted to.”

Bruins Cam Neely on NESN on NHL Trade Deadline, "I'm still very happy with our group and where we're at. We still have some time to maybe tinker. We'll look at that. It's a lot of gymnastics going on with the cap but we did give ourselves the opportunity to add if we wanted to."

— Shawn Hutcheon (@ShawnHutcheon) February 28, 2023

Most of the rumors surrounding the Boston Bruins have seen their targets already moved, like Ivan Barbashev to the St. Louis Blues, or something that simply isn’t going to happen like Arizona Coyotes defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

There are some serviceable depth forwards out there still on the block like Max Domi or a big center like Nick Bjugstad that could serve as good insurance in case injuries hit the B’s up front.

But that being said, nobody really foresaw the Orlov/Hathaway deal coming until it was almost imminent with the Black and Gold, so Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney and Co. might still be in stealth mode right now until the time is right.

Honestly, though, nobody would criticize the Boston Bruins one bit if they simply stood pat with a deep, talented team that’s won seven games in a row for the third time this season and took their chances during the Stanley Cup playoffs.