The Bruins are receiving inquiries about the availability of defenseman Brandon Carlo and pending restricted free agent forward Morgan Geekie, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan said last weekend (via Scott McLaughlin of WEEI). Kaplan also relayed they continue to field calls on pending UFA Trent Frederic, who’s been garnering interest throughout much of the season. It’s far less likely that Boston will part ways with captain Brad Marchand even if they haven’t worked out an extension by the March 7 trade deadline, Kaplan added.
There’s little surprise that Boston is seeking to part ways with some of their middle-of-the-lineup players amid what’s likely to be a retooling effort over the next few seasons. They just locked in starter Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66MM deal at the beginning of the season and still have six years remaining on superstar David Pastrňák’s contract, as well as five years remaining on top defenseman Charlie McAvoy’s deal. The team’s books aren’t conducive to a complete rebuild despite them tracking to miss the playoffs for the first time in nine years.
After losing Jake DeBrusk in free agency last summer and signing Elias Lindholm to a max-term deal to augment their center depth, things haven’t gone to plan for the Bruins offensively. They’re clicking at 2.75 goals per game, 25th in the league and their worst since their 2.55 mark in the 2014-15 season. Marchand and Pastrňák have continued to produce at elite levels, but the latter is still only on pace for 40 goals after notching 61 and 47 in the prior two years. Lindholm has flamed out, limited to 10-19–29 through 57 games – unjustifiable production for his $7.75MM cap hit, no matter how well he grades out defensively (where he’s had average possession impacts this season).
Including Lindholm, five Bruins forwards have produced in the 15-30 point range at this point in the season. Among the pack are Frederic and Geekie, both in their primes and don’t have bonafide top-six ceilings on a championship-contending team. It makes sense they’d at least be talked about by Bruins management as they begin the shift to prioritizing younger, higher-upside pieces in their lineup.
However, Carlo’s name is more surprising to see on the list of potentially available players. In past years, his $4.1MM cap hit would have been considered below market value, especially as he’s locked in through the 2026-27 campaign. A tough year from the 28-year-old likely diminishes his trade value slightly, but with a lengthy track record of being a stalwart top-four defender, it’s likely teams will see a down season as a blip, not a trend, from a right-shot defender below 30 years old.
He will immediately rank among the top righties available on deadline day if Boston shifts from just taking calls to shopping him. That said, his all-around numbers this season aren’t inspiring. His 18:40 ATOI is his lowest since arriving in Boston nine years ago, and while he’s not relied upon for offense, his nine points in 56 games is the lowest pace we’ve seen from him in four years. Defensive metrics don’t paint a rosy picture, either. Carlo’s penalty kill time has been eaten into by Nikita Zadorov, and at even strength, his 45.6 CF% and -9.0 expected rating rank worst among the team’s full-time blue-liners. Extremely difficult defensive minutes don’t do him any good there, but with the latter number tracking as a career-worst, it’s a cause for concern.
Deal Geekie for whatever is offered. I would like to see Carlo stay and finish out his current deal (through 2027) but I understand he could bring back a decent return.
Y would you want to deal Geekie he’s their 3rd leading scorer and a +2 and only 26 he hand 17g last yr and already has 17 this he’s not the problem it’s the goalie D and the 4 guys down the middle they should try trading one of those stiffs first
Curious if the Avs will make an attempt to bring Carlo back to the state of Colorado? The Avs could definitely use more size and physicality on their backend.
Boy, does Carlo have a surprise for you.
If any team is looking for 3rd, And 4th liners, Boston is your one stop shop!
Carlo problem is he is a zero offensively. I’m not sure what the return would be. On a team with some offense he definitely provides more value than he does to the b’s
A young-ish 2nd-pairing shutdown d-man who also kills penalties, and has a reasonable contract will attract eyeballs. He’s a great depth piece for a winning team. The B’s definitely don’t lose anything by keeping him, so it’s about what the offers are.
The guy that got the B’s into this mess, Sweeney, is the one guy you do NOT want trying to acquire assets for any type of rebuild. He doesn’t know how. For a decade, he has cared less about the future in favor of the season he’s in. He has acquired a bunch of middle 6 and bottom 6 forwards – aside from Pasta and Marchand – trades away his future assets and if you notice, throws in his own draft picks to acquire marginal talent (Andrew Peeke for a 3rd rounder?!!). Teams aren’t chomping at the bit to acquire Frederic, Geekie, or Carlo. Sure, they’ll ask, but you’re not going to get a treasure trove of assets for marginal players. But even if they did, Sweeney wouldn’t know what to do with it. They need to bring in a GM (and new President) who know how to rebuild with impact players, not with marginal talent that you “hope” will go above & beyond in Boston vs. what they’ve done in their careers to that point.