Trade tiers for the Boston Bruins
Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic: The Boston Bruins are going to be buyers at the trade deadline, but they will continue to monitor and evaluate.
“I think everybody is going to evaluate where their team is at for the next two weeks,” a dissatisfied Sweeney said on Wednesday. “You could be above the line, below the line, pretty quickly.”
Looking at the trade tiers for the Bruins.
Let’s talk – Anders Bjork, Jake DeBrusk, Jakub Lauko, Jeremy Lauzon, Mason Lohrei, Oskar Steen, Urho Vaakaneinen, Jakub Zboril and their 2021 first-round pick.
Don’t see it – John Beecher, Brandon Carlo, Connor Clifton, Trent Frederic, Matt Grzelcyk, David Krejci, Nick Ritchie, Craig Smith, Jack Studnicka, Jeremy Swayman and Dan Vladar.
Not going anywhere – Patrice Bergeron, Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand.
Not going anywhere, either – Jaroslav Halak, Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Tuukka Rask.
Staal not worrying about a trade out of Buffalo
Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News: Pierre LeBrun said that the Edmonton Oilers have called the Buffalo Sabres about forward Eric Staal. Staal said on Thursday that he’s not focusing on not being with the Sabres and playing for a contender.
“I mean, right now, I’m not really thinking about it,” Staal said Thursday morning ahead of a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in KeyBank Center. “I’m thinking about the game tonight. Obviously, everyone knows where we’re at and the situation we’re in. But at the same time, my focus is trying to help us win a game tonight against Pittsburgh. We’ll worry about that when we get there.”
Staal has been averaging a career-low in ice-time under head coach Ralph Krueger. Staal didn’t bring his family with him to Buffalo after he was traded from the Minnesota Wild.
Other potential trade candidates for the Sabres include Taylor Hall, Tobias Rieder, Riley Sheahan and Brandon Montour.
`