Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said Monday, hours after his team decided not to trade Loui Eriksson at the NHL trade deadline, that the offers he received for the winger just weren’t “right.”
Three days later, Cam Neely offered some insight into exactly what those offers entailed.
The Bruins president said Thursday in a candid interview with 98.5 The Sports Hub’s “Felger & Massarotti” that Boston was not offered a first-round draft pick or a package of two second-round picks for Eriksson, which Neely called “baffling to everyone in our management group.”
“We explored moving Loui — it’s no secret,” Neely said. “And we felt if we got the return that made sense for the club that we would end up probably moving Loui. We weren’t getting the return that we felt we deserved for a guy like Loui — what he meant to the team this year, how well he’s played this year. So, having said that, we said, ‘We’re a playoff team. Let’s see what we can do to try to improve our club and improve our chances of getting into the playoffs.’ ”
What were the Bruins looking for? According to Neely, either a first-round pick or a player who could make an immediate impact. Apparently, neither of those options were presented to them. Instead, Boston swung two relatively minor deals, acquiring defenseman John-Michael Liles for two draft picks and landing winger Lee Stempniak for two picks and a lower-level prospect.
As currently constructed, this Bruins team should be good enough to secure a spot in the Stanley Cup playoffs, which the B’s were unable to do last season. The deals might not have turned Boston into a Cup contender, but Neely asked the fans to bear with him during this transitional period.
“I ask for a little patience of what we’re trying to accomplish here,” said Neely, who added that ownership did not mandate a playoff appearance this season. “I know there’s expectations from media and our fans, and everyone wants things to turn around quick.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
