BOSTON — On Thursday, interim coach Joe Sacco declared Trent Frederic week-to-week with a lower-body injury. This does not help the Boston Bruins as they proceed before the March 7 trade deadline. If a team interested in acquiring the unrestricted free agent-to-be cannot claim Frederic’s services for the entire post-trade duration, the price they cede could accordingly diminish in value.
The Bruins’ hopes for a second-rounder, in other words, may have to be downgraded to a third-round pick.
Also on Thursday, the Bruins placed Oliver Wahlstrom on waivers. It is the second time the ex-New York Islander has been waived this season.
None of this is surprising given his performance.
Wahlstrom, whose strength is his shot, scored one goal in 16 games. His unexplainable offensive-zone high-sticking penalty on Tuesday led to a critical power-play goal by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Bruins’ 5-4 overtime loss. The Bruins’ original claim on Dec. 14, 2024, did not work out.
So what’s next?
Frederic remains on the trade market, according to two NHL hockey operations executives granted anonymity to discuss a player not under their clubs’ control. Frederic is No. 18 on The Athletic’s trade board. A healthy Frederic would be a physical third-line presence and penalty killer. It remains to be seen how his injury will affect his play.
If Frederic proceeds to free agency on July 1, it’s a good bet his hometown St. Louis Blues would be in the running. Frederic would be reunited with former coach Jim Montgomery. There is mutual appreciation between Frederic and Montgomery.
However, if St. Louis wants a head start on making Frederic a long-term Blue, general manager Don Sweeney could engage with counterpart Doug Armstrong on a trade. One of the executives speculated that Jake Neighbours could be available for Frederic. The 22-year-old left-shot Neighbours has 14 goals and 13 assists in 59 games. He starts a two-year, $7.5 million contract in 2025-26.
Brandon Carlo, No. 23 on the board, is also a player rivals believe the Bruins would consider trading. Unlike Frederic, Carlo is signed through 2027 at $4.1 million annually. Carlo would be a good second-pair five-on-five defender and penalty killer.
The Bruins are already down one right-shot defenseman in Charlie McAvoy. Carlo would bring back more than Frederic because he is under team control for two more seasons after this one. The 28-year-old has partial no-trade protection.
Like Carlo, Brad Marchand also has a partial no-trade clause. But the Bruins, in all likelihood, would consider Marchand’s wishes more than they would with Carlo because of the captain’s standing in team history. To this point, Marchand does not want to be traded. But if the Bruins cannot approach an agreement with the UFA-to-be, they may move Marchand for assets instead of letting him walk for nothing.
Futures are the most likely return. But according to one of the executives, the Bruins could reinforce their current roster by acquiring Rickard Rakell from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rakell is 31. He is older than the Bruins would prefer, but Rakell is enjoying an uptick this season with 25 goals and 24 assists in 59 games. He is second to Sidney Crosby in team scoring.
Rakell is signed through 2028 at $5 million annually. The Penguins are desperate for youth. They could be willing to part with the right-shot forward. Rakell would improve a top six that took a hit when Jake DeBrusk signed with the Vancouver Canucks.
When it comes to who the Penguins would want, Matt Poitras would fit the profile of their preference. The second-year pro has offensive upside. He is 20 years old. Poitras could grow into a No. 2 center.
From that perspective, Poitras would seemingly be a hands-off player for the retooling Bruins. The Bruins are not in a position to trade any centers, especially ones with offensive potential. But the executive who noted Rakell’s availability cautioned Poitras is not a play driver, and might not become one.
Poitras centered the third line between Riley Tufte and Justin Brazeau in Thursday’s 2-1 loss to the New York Islanders. Poitras was injured in the second period when Brock Nelson checked him into the corner of the boards just as one of the bench doors opened. Poitras needed time to get to his feet. He limped down the tunnel behind the Islanders bench and did not return. Sacco did not disclose the nature of Poitras’ injury.
The Bruins outshot the Islanders, 39-20. David Pastrnak scored the lone goal to stretch his scoring streak to 16 straight games.
But Ilya Sorokin (38 saves) stole the points the Bruins needed. The Bruins are now four points out of the No. 2 wild-card position.
“He was the difference in the game tonight,” Sacco said. “I’ll have to look at the number of chances we generated. But it seemed like it was enough. It seemed like we had some good quality chances as well. Not just scoring chances. Some quality chances. We did a better job after the first getting in front of him. The first, we had some good chances, but he saw some pucks. After that, we did a better job of getting in front of him. But he was really good tonight.”
(Photo of Trent Frederic: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
