With the Bruins season already wrapped up, it is time to start reflecting on their rollercoaster of a 2017-2018 season.
One of the critical points of the season as always was the trade deadline which saw the Bruins make four big moves that are sure to impact Boston beyond the 2017-2018 season. Now that we know how the Bruins’ season played out, let’s re-evaluate each of the team’s four moves at the trade deadline.
To the Boston Bruins: Rick Nash
To the New York Rangers: Ryan Spooner, Matt Beleskey, Ryan Lindgren, A 2018 first round pick, a 2019 seventh-round pick
Grade: B-
This move is likely being criticized by many since the Bruins failed to win the Stanley Cup, however, given the context of where they were at the time, this move still looks like it was the right thing to do.
The Bruins needed another high-profile player to score goals outside of the dominant top line, and they were hoping Nash could be that guy.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, the trade never really worked out. Rick Nash was injured early on in his brief Boston career and wasn’t able to make a very big impact. It’s a shame too because he seemed to find some chemistry playing alongside David Krejci.
Nash managed to return to the team for the playoffs, but he continued his reputation of disappearing in the playoffs. The 33-year-old recorded three goals and two assists during the Bruins 12 playoff games.
It will be interesting to see if Bruce Cassidy and Don Sweeney have any interest in trying to sign him to a long year deal.
To the Boston Bruins: Nick Holden
To the New York Rangers: Rob O’Gara and a 2018 third-round pick
Grade: C
I was very high on this move when it was first announced back in March, however, it never ended up amounting to much.
The Bruins defense took major strides this season, however, the blue line still lacked depth and acquiring Holden was supposed to help fix that. He played some solid minutes for the New York Rangers and was for the most part pretty solid, but his role in Boston was never really clear.
Holden struggled to get minutes on the ice in Boston, which is quite surprising given the late injury to Brandon Carlo. He only played two games in the playoffs, the second of which only happened because Torey Krug went down.
When he did manage to get some ice time, Holden’s play was fairly average, but the quality of play and lock of ice time leads me to the question—why he was acquired in the first place?
To the Boston Bruins: 2018 third-round pick
To the Florida Panthers: Frank Vatrano
Grade: C-
This trade was a no-brainer for the Bruins—being able to get a third-round draft selection out of Vatrano was an absolute steal.
I’m grading this one so low because of the pick was used. The Bruins immediately dealt their newly acquired pick to the Rangers to get Holden, and I question whether his minimal role was worth a high draft choice.
To the Boston Bruins: Tommy Wingels
To the Chicago Blackhawks: A conditional 2019 fifth round pick
Grade: B
Many were left stunned when the Bruins managed to acquire Tommy Wingels for only a fifth-round pick, however, his play left a lot to be desired.
Wingels wasn’t bad by any means, but like many Bruins at the end of the season outside of the first line, he wasn’t able to produce much offense.
He played in four playoff games but was unable to record any points.
