Bruins notebook: Trent Frederic, Max Jones dealt to Edmonton

The Bruins were indeed sellers on Tuesday.

The first shoe to drop in the trade deadline dealings for the B’s saw Trent Frederic and Max Jones heading to Edmonton in a complicated deal three-way deal with New Jersey.

The trade netted them the St. Louis Blues’ second-round pick (owned by Edmonton) in this June’s draft as well as Edmonton’s fourth-round pick in 2026 and 21-year-old right shot defenseman Max Wanner, a seventh-round pick of the Oilers in 2021. The Saskatoon native has a goal and an assist in 22 games this year while he had 7-10-17 totals in 68 games last year, his first pro season.

The Devils facilitated the deal for Edmonton, taking on 50% of Frederic’s deal while the B’s, who initially sent Frederic to the Devils and retained 50% of the contract. Jersey’s unsigned draft choice, Petr Hauser, first went to the B’s and was then shipped to Edmonton.

GM Don Sweeney had begun negotiations on an extension prior to the season for Frederic, a first-round pick of the B’s in 2016, after Frederic set career highs in goals (18) and points (40) last year. But Frederic, a favorite in a corner of the fandom for his willingness to drop the gloves, never got untracked this year and, with the B’s unlikely to make the playoffs, re-signing him was no longer a priority. He had just 8-7–15 totals before suffering an apparent ankle injury last week against Toronto that has put his status as week to week.

Jones, meanwhile, never founding his footing with the B’s after signing a two-year deal worth $1 million annually. After getting hurt in training camp, he skated played just seven games in Boston with no points.

In the deal, Jersey also picked up Boston University forward Shane Lachance, a sixth-round pick of the Oilers in 2021.

All in all, it was not a bad return for an injured player who had been underperforming in Frederic and a player who was clearly not in the B’s plans.

Marchand update

The Bruins’ increasingly quixotic bid for a playoff spot has gotten even more doubtful.

B’s interim coach Joe Sacco announced that captain Brad Marchand, the club’s emotional leader, will be out “week-to-week” with an upper body injury after getting rammed into the boards head-first by Penguins’ defenseman P.O. Joseph in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

That will take him out until after Friday’s trade deadline, which no doubt changes the complexion of things for Sweeney. He and Marchand’s camp have been trying to hammer out an extension for the pending UFA, with Friday’s trade deadline serving as a pressure point. Now it would certainly seem like his value would take a hit on the trade market if a team just wanted him for the stretch run, preventing the B’s from getting a proper return for someone who has been a foundational player for a decade and a half, if that’s the road they were entertaining. And if they don’t trade him, the B’s certainly couldn’t let him walk for nothing at the end of the season.

While Marchand’s name has been kicked around in the rumor mill, both sides have made it clear they want the captain to remain a Bruin. Still, they’ve yet to consummate a deal.

Of pressing concern to Sacco is the loss of a heart and soul player who drives some offense. He may not be the same dominant force he’s been in the past but he’s still second on the team in points with 21-26-47 totals in 61 games.

“Obviously a hard guy to replace him and we’re going to miss. But it creates opportunities for other guys to step, maybe some of our younger players like a (Georgii Merkulov) or a (Matt) Poitras,” said Sacco after the morning skate ahead of Tuesday’s game against Nashville.

The loss of Marchand is a major void in the dressing room.

“It’s tough to lose a guy like that, your captain and one of your best players. We all know what he brings with his commitment. He’s a gamer. It’s good to have those guys in the lineup and we’re going to miss him,” said Charlie Coyle. “But it’s also an opportunity for all of us, individually and as a team to step up and have a little more responsibility to try to fill. It’s not going to be one guy to come up and be Marchy, but we can all take another little step together.”

Coyle said that in his contact with the captain on Tuesday, Marchand still seems like himself.

“Brad seems like he’s always in good spirits. When you see him he’s always got his head down and putting in the work, no matter what it is, whether he’s injured or playing that night, whatever. He’s putting in work, doing something, getting better, getting right,” said Coyle. “That’s how he was today when I saw him. He’s always just positive. He knows he’s not playing tonight and you can sit off to the side and be quiet, but he’s always helping in some sort of way, whether it’s a small way or a big way or whatever. He’s always adding … he’s going around today and just being that energetic guy.”

Carlo wants to stay

While a pending UFA like Justin Brazeau is naturally a player most likely to be moved, there is a second tier of candidates with term that could actually fetch a better return, players like Coyle (one year left at $5.25 million) and Brandon Carlo, who is still a bargain at $4.1 million for two more years.

“You never like that feeling of uncertainty, nobody does. Nobody really likes change, either. I’m just going day by day, contributing to this group and being the best part of it I can be,” said Carlo. “I obviously love being a Boston Bruin and want to continue to be a Boston Bruin. For our group in general, it has been different this year. In the past we’ve been adding to make that push. This year’s a little different. I still have faith within this group, the guys we have in this room. I wouldn’t want to go into battle with anyone else. For me and this group, I think it’s just going day by day and focus on things you can control. Outside of that, there’s some hard realities that might have to be faced, but we’ll cross those bridges when we come to them.”

Merkulov in spotlight

With Marchand out for the foreseeable future, the B’s will need to get offense from someone. They hope the young man who takes his place on the Coyle-Elias Lindholm line, Merkulov, can step up. While the coaching staff has stressed to Merkulov to play responsibly, he knows it’s time for him to show some of the skills that have made him almost a point-a-game player in the AHL. He’s still kicking himself for giving up the shot on a 2-on-1 with Lindholm in the Pittsburgh game after his pass attempt was deflected.

But the 24-year-old Merkulov, who has one assist in nine games, is still looking for the right balance.

“You don’t want to be a liability. You don’t want to hurt the team by cheating offensively,, especially as a young player,” said Merkulov. “If you’re a 50-goal scorer, you can do that. But as a young player … probably in the AHL I have that credit where I can cheat offensively. But in order to produce, you’ve got to think offense first rather than defense. Coming up here, I have to help the team and not be a liability and play defensively. And then if the offense presents itself, take advantage.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/ZLGvNY5