Boston

Bruins May Not Make More Deals Before NHL Trade Deadline

With his Bruins riding a seven-game winning streak and a 12-game point streak, general manager Don Sweeney is certainly confident.

One can't blame him, not with the way the B's have played in all phases of the game without top scorer David Pastrnak. And with the addition of third-line center Charlie Coyle in a trade with the Wild. it's understandable why Sweeney showed that confidence in a conference call with reporters on Thursday.

When asked whether there was another move coming before Monday's trade deadeline, such as an anticipated deal for a top-6 goal scorer, Sweeney responded:

"I don't know if we're necessarily going to do anything else. We are going to continue to make calls and receive calls, and we'll continue to monitor the marketplace to see what may or may not fit with our hockey club. We're going to continue to cross our fingers that we stay healthy. I think our club has . . . put themselves in a position to compete for a playoff spot and improve the positioning if possible as we come down to the last 21 games. We're going to continue to look at areas. But we're excited.

I talked to [coach Bruce Cassidy] last night and this morning, and he's enjoyed watching Karson Kuhlman add something to our hockey club. He didn't know him at all. He didn't have him (during the September trip to) China (for a pair of exhibition games), so he's learning on the fly with him. Peter Cehlarik is going to come back [from Providence] after he's dealt with an injury. We've just got to stay healthy. That's one of the paramount things as you go down the stretch. Will we look at adding more depth? Possibly. But we feel good about where we're at while never feeling comfortable."  

Clearly the Bruins will be keeping tabs on big-ticket wingers like Artemi Panarin and Mark Stone, who could be dealt at the deadline, and top-6 rental wingers like Wayne Simmonds still make all kinds of sense at the right price. But one also has to wonder if the current seven-winning streak, coupled with the emergence of some of Boston's youngsters like Danton Heinen and Jake DeBrusk (both point-per-game players in February), has made the B's a bit more comfortable with the notion of standing pat after their early move. 

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