from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,
During Claude Julien’s time, the coach has never faced the possibility of a late-winter sprint with a diminished roster. The Bruins have always been active about addressing their would-be free agents before the trade deadline forced them into action.
There is no doubt that trading Eriksson will make the Bruins weaker. This is not the direction teams with playoffs dreams prefer to trend.
Eriksson is the one right wing who has earned Julien’s trust. The Bruins would have to find not just a second-line replacement, but another penalty killer and a net-front/goal-line presence on the No. 1 power-play unit. The latter will be especially difficult to find. No left-shot forward on the roster has Eriksson’s man-up skill set.
Under normal circumstances, Sweeney could command a first-round pick and prospect for Eriksson. Futures, however, do not serve Julien, not when he’s had Dougie Hamilton, Milan Lucic, and Johnny Boychuk moved from his toolbox within the last 16 months without varsity returns.
Even if the Bruins packaged one of their two 2016 first-rounders with Eriksson, the return would not net their preferred asset: a young top-four defenseman such as Matt Dumba, Jonas Brodin (currently out 3-6 weeks with a broken foot), or Sami Vatanen.
One outcome could be sending Eriksson out for a defenseman with term left on his contract, especially to a team looking to clear salary.
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