What Cam Neely Believes Bruins Need Ahead Of NHL Trade Deadline

It’s tough for Boston Bruins president Cam Neely to narrow down his wish list heading into next week’s NHL trade deadline.

“That’s a big list,” Neely told The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa on Monday. “… But we’ll try to figure something out that’s going to give us opportunities to improve upon, for sure.”

But Neely does see two specific areas in which the Bruins could add by orchestrating a trade.

“Another stiff defender would be good,” Neely told Shinzawa. “And you could always use help on offense.”

This year’s trade deadline expects to be much different than last year for the Bruins. Boston added Garnett Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov and Tyler Bertuzzi with the team putting together a record-setting regular season.

But acquiring that trio came at a cost with the Bruins parting with multiple draft picks. Boston doesn’t have the same draft capital now due to those deals, putting it in a tougher position to pull off a trade.

The Bruins are also facing cap space limitations that further will put them in a bind on the trade market. So, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this deadline turns out to be a little quieter for them.

“Our cupboards are a little thin considering what we did last year and in previous years,” Neely said. “So something really has to make sense for us. There’s other areas we can improve upon, whether it’s adding a little bit more grit at the bottom part of our lineup.”

The Bruins have already tried to do that by adding Justin Brazeau and Anthony Richard to the mix from Providence. The two have given the fourth line a jolt since joining the team.

The Bruins have six games before the March 8 trade deadline, starting Monday night against the Seattle Kraken. Puck drop from Climate Pledge Arena is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.