1 player Bruins must trade before 2026 NHL Trade Deadline

The Boston Bruins find themselves inside the NHL’s playoff structure at the Olympic break. They are exceeding nearly all preseason expectations that were thrown their way as the season was about to get underway. The Bruins have responded quite well to first-year head coach Marco Sturm and have returned to their roots by playing a hard-hitting and physical game that has given them a chance against nearly all opponents.

The Bruins had sunk to last place in the Atlantic Division a year ago, and since they had traded away Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and others, it seemed that general manager Don Sweeney was at the start of a rebuilding mode. However, some of the trades had produced an excellent return that included Fraser Minten from the Toronto Maple Leafs, Marat Khusnutdinov of the Minnesota Wild and Casey Mittelstadt of the Colorado Avalanche. Additionally, the Bruins had a few under the radar free-agent signings that have also paid dividends.

Combine those trades and free agent additions with the glowing work of Sturm, and the Bruins have played winning hockey. They had a sensational month of January and they closed the early portion of the schedule with shootout road losses against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers that were highly competitive.

They have been in nearly every game. David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy have provided leadership and solid production. Goalie Jeremy Swayman has bounced back from a relatively poor 2024-25 season and defenseman Hampus Lindholm has been healthy for a majority of the season.

All of these factors have led to a team that is 32-20-5. The Bruins have 69 points and they are just 3 points out of second place in the Atlantic Division

Bruins have much work to do once the season resumes

While they are in a playoff position right now, there are no guarantees that the Bruins will simply pick up where they left off and roll into the postseason. The competition in the Eastern Conference is tough and demanding and if there is any slip-up when the season resumes, the Bruins could easily find themselves on the outside looking in.

General manager Don Sweeney should feel good about the sharp turnaround that has put his team in a positive position. He can certainly make some trades prior to the March 6 trade deadline that would put his team in a stronger position, but it would be a mistake to “go for it” by giving away future top draft picks for player rentals that may or may not help.
That is not to say that the Bruins should not make a few trades, and one of the key maneuvers could involve center Elias Lindholm.

On paper, Lindholm is the team’s No. 2 center and he also plays a key role on the Bruins power play. Elias Lindholm had signed as a free agent prior to the 2024-25 season and he was largely a disappointment a year ago. He has performed somewhat better this season with 11 goals and 26 assists in 44 games.

Injured center could be on the move

Lindholm was selected for the Swedish Olympic team, but he could not participate due to an upper-body injury. He should be healthy as the season resumes, but the Bruins may be thinking seriously about moving him.

Pavel Zacha and Lindholm are normally the team’s top two centers, but both are currently out with injuries. Neither is considered to have a serious health issue — Zacha also has an upper-body issue — and the team has played well during the course of those injuries.

Khusnutdinov and Minten have moved into the roles of playing center on the top two lines. The team would be somewhat stronger when both return to full health, but neither player is untouchable.

Having said that, Zacha is the more productive and dangerous of the pair and Elias Lindholm could find himself wearing a new sweater in early March.

Bringing in a goal-scoring winger would be advantageous

While the Bruins may still be trying to retool at the center position following the retirements of former stars Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci at the conclusion of the record-setting 2022-23 season, they appear to have some depth at the position.

If they held on to Zacha and traded Elias Lindholm, they would still have Khusnutdinov, Minten, Matt Poitras and Sean Kuraly as their remaining  centers. Poitras played fairly effectively after he was brought up from Providence, and he could fill a key role for the varsity during the stretch run.

The Bruins have quite a bit of room to improve and adding a high-scoring winger who could join Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie could create a major advantage for Sturm that he does not have at this point. The Bruins are getting by with Mittelstadt, Viktor Arvidsson, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Alexander Steeves and Michael Eyssimont as their wingers. If they could upgrade at the position by moving Elias Lindholm, it could help them close in on a playoff spot and give them a stronger team in the postseason.

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