The Bruins have a decision to make ahead of the March 7 trade deadline and that’s whether they want to be buyers or sellers.
Boston has 49 points through its first 46 game of the season and sit 10th in the Eastern Conference. They’ve largely under-performed this year between players taking a step back and dealing with injuries.
But there’s a crop of young players in Providence that are having strong seasons including Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov. Matt Poitras began the year with the Bruins, but was assigned to Providence in November and played 23 games for the AHL squad where he totaled 20 points.
Poitras made an immediate impact in Boston’s 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night, but it remains to be seen whether Lysell and/or Merkulov will get an extended look at some point this season.
Speaking to reporters at the Black and Gold Gala in Boston, Bruins president Cam Neely was asked whether he’d like to see the younger players make an impact before they decide to make any sort of move at the trade deadline.
“It would be beneficial for the organization to see where those guys are at, there’s no question,“ Neely said. ”We’ve been really patient with the group up here, with the big club. And I think that we rely a lot on what the coaching staff says down in Providence, what our development and staff says, you know, staff that really watches those guys on a daily basis, and really have an understanding of where their development is.
“… With Fabian, we certainly like his skillset. But one of the things with him that we’ve preached is away from the puck and when you don’t have the puck, how do you play?,” he continued. “But these are guys that we know what they can do or how they can help us offensively. But are you out scoring your mistakes is really the question.”
Lysell made his NHL debut earlier this season. He didn’t appear on the scoresheet, but made a nice play on Justin Brazeau’s opening goal. Interim coach Joe Sacco said the 2021 first-round pick didn’t hurt his chances of getting another opportunity to play the NHL level after he was assigned back to Providence, but he still has yet to be recalled.
Neely noted that the Bruins are ready to prepare two paths — buying and selling — for their deadline plans, but that it all depends on how things go between now and then. And while he admitted to not having the appetite for a retool, he knows it’s a possibility.
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