Evaluating Don Sweeney’s major trades for rebuilding Boston Bruins

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Evaluating Don Sweeney’s major trades for rebuilding Boston Bruins

Matt Vautour · MassLive

Fri, Dec 19, 2025 ·

8 min read

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It’s been over nine months since Don Sweeney tore down the core of the Bruins with five trade-deadline deals.

Those moves, plus one before the season, set the table for the franchise going forward.

It was presumed at the time that the success or failure of the moves would play a huge role in whether Sweeney continued to lead the franchise down the road. So far, the early returns are good.

Below is a look at each of the trades that have set up this rebuild, beginning with the offseason move that sent Linus Ullmark to Ottawa through the deadline deals in March.

1. Bruins send Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for Joonas Korpisalo , Mark Kastelic , and a 2024 first-round pick

Initially, with Jeremy Swayman struggling last year, the question was whether they should have attempted to keep the goalie duo intact.

But realistically, the Bruins weren’t going to keep both guys. In hindsight, the question became whether the time of the trade hurt the negotiations with Swayman.

Since getting to Ottawa, Ullmark has been fine, but not outstanding. The deal did not make the Senators a contender and Ullmark hasn’t been close to his Vezina-winning form from 2022-23.

Boston Bruins center Mark Kastelic (47) collects the puck as Colorado Avalanche center Brock Nelson , behind, pursues in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)AP

While Korpisalo has been serviceable as a backup, Kastelic has been a terrific fit as a bottom-six player. Boston used the first-round pick to select Dean Letourneau. He struggled in his first year at Boston College. But he arrived a year sooner than initially planned and big forwards (he’s 6-foot-7) often take longer to develop.

As a sophomore, he’s emerging as a point-per-game guy for the Eagles.

To anyone looking to find fault with the deal, acquiring Korpisalo left Brandon Bussi blocked in Providence.

Given a chance in Carolina, Bussi is thriving with an 11-1-0 record, a 2.05 GAA and a .911 save percentage. A lot would have had to go right for him to have gotten the chance to do that in Boston.

Verdict: In hindsight, this is at least a solid trade and potentially a very good one if Letourneau pans out.

2. Bruins send Charlie Coyle to Colorado for Casey Mittelstadt , Will Zellers and a 2025 second-round pick

At 33, dealing Coyle made sense for the Bruins. On a good team, he’s at best a No. 3 center. At the time, Mittelstadt was a gamble. There were questions about his motor and his ability/willingness to play defense.

But he’s been better than expected under Marco Sturm and could still be climbing. Despite missing some games, his numbers (8 goals, 14 points in 24 games) aren’t all that different from Coyle’s (5 goals, 20 points in 33 games).

Columbus Blue Jackets center Charlie Coyle skates against the Dallas Stars during the second period of an NHL hockey game between the Dallas Stars and the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday, Oct. 21, 2025, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)AP

Zellers was an 18-year-old who’d been dominating in the USHL (44 goals, 71 points in 52 games) at the time of the trade. This year, he’s off to a strong start with 15 points (10 goals, five assists) at the University of North Dakota.

It’s too early to judge Liam Pettersson, the Swedish defenseman Boston selected with the second-round pick.

Verdict: Mittelstadt has been better than expected. Zellers has a high ceiling. The Bruins have to feel good about this deal.

3. Bruins send Brandon Carlo to Toronto for Fraser Minten , a conditional first-round pick and a fourth-round pick

This feels like a steal for the Bruins. Carlo was a good, defense-first blueliner, but hardly an irreplaceable piece. He’s already showing up on lists of guys likely to be traded again this year.

BOSTON, MA - OCTOBER 04: Fraser Minten #93 of the Boston Bruins gains the blue line during a preseason game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers on October 4, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Minten has proven to be a smart, strong defensive center already with some capacity for offense.

The first-round pick is complicated because of protections and other deals. But the Bruins will have Toronto’s pick in either the 2026 draft (most likely), 2027 or 2028 drafts.

The fourth-round pick, Vashek Blanar, has a high ceiling, but is a long way from making an NHL impact. He’ll be a freshman at UMass in 2026-27.

Verdict: Clear win. This already looks like a good trade for the Bruins and could turn into a great one.

4. The Bruins sent Trent Frederic and Max Jones to the Oilers and got a second-round, a fourth-round pick and prospect Max Wanner

Unlike Carlo and Coyle, who were signed through 2025-26, Frederic was a true rental at last season’s deadline and the Bruins weren’t going to re-sign him. Jones hadn’t panned out, so it would have been hard to lose this trade. Getting a second-rounder (Will Moore) for Frederic, who was injured, feels like a good takeaway. Moore is off to a slow start at BC, but he’s playing behind more accomplished players like Letourneau last year.

Wanner, 22, will have to take a step forward in his development to ever figure into the Bruins’ plans in the NHL.

Verdict: If Moore turns into an NHL player, this is a great trade. Even if he doesn’t, Frederic is both struggling and overpaid in Edmonton .

5. The Boston Bruins traded Justin Brazeau to Minnesota for Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko , and a 2026 sixth-round pick

The Bruins dealt Brazeau, likely thinking they were selling high on their unexpected success story. But he signed with the Penguins as a free agent and has thrived with eight goals and six assists in 18 games.

Still, they get credit for recognizing something untapped in Khusnutdinov too. He’s been better in Boston than he was in Minnesota.

It’s possible that both players needed a change of scenery.

Verdict: Can’t call this deal a win, given how well Brazeau has played. But, they weren’t fleeced either.

6. The Bruins dealt Brad Marchand to Florida for a conditional first-round pick

The Bruins dealt the face of the franchise for a conditional pick to avoid the risk of getting nothing for him. Because the Panthers advanced and Marchand played, that deal is a first-round pick in 2027.

Marchand’s injury at the time tied Sweeney’s hands a bit as teams weren’t sure when/if he’d be back. Given his free agent status, there was a risk that a team could trade for him and he’d barely play for them.

Complicating things further was the Bruins’ desire to send Marchand to a place he wanted to go. Should that have been a consideration?

But now at age 37, he’s leading the Panthers in goals (19) and assists (18). The Bruins and Panthers could be competing for a playoff spot. If Florida makes it, part of the reason will be Marchand.

Verdict: The Bruins didn’t get enough to deal Marchand to help a division rival get better.

Notable here too. The Bruins weren’t deliberately tanking at the end of the season, but the losses they incurred after the deadline moved them up in the draft order, which helped them get James Hagens.

Outtakes from a busy week ...

Something uplifting in a dark stretch

If you need something uplifting to read after a December filled with tragedy and violence, check out Cam Pellegrino’s column from the Daily Collegian at UMass. Cam’s apartment and everything he owned burned to the ground during the fire in Amherst earlier this month. In the loss he found hope:

“Once the smoke cleared and the flames faded, I could still feel the warmth. The heat wasn’t from the fire anymore, but the kindness that carried me through the confusion. I saw firsthand how disaster strips away the divisions that set us apart to reveal the shared humanity beneath.”

Real Jeopardy! Clue

Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date

CATEGORY: Sports$800

Date: Oct. 18, 2008

With fans eager to watch Doak Walker play, SMU moved its home games to this venue, “The House That Doak Built”

— Answer below

The Top 5

The Top 5 Hot Takes About “It’s a Wonderful Life”

5— Pottersville looks way more fun than Bedford Falls.

4— Kind of weird that Harry Bailey went to Harvard from Bedford Falls, N.Y. but didn’t invite any family to his wedding? Even back then, it’s not that far. And Ruth’s father was rich. Not only didn’t they go, but George didn’t even know about her. There’s something sketchy about Ruth and Harry that nobody gets to the bottom of.

3— Nick gets to own his own bar instead of being an employee at Martini’s in the “No George” timeline. He’d have actually been better off without George, making money off of hard drinks for men who want to get drunk fast. I

2— If George Bailey had successfully wished that Uncle Billy had never been born, the result would have been turning Bedford Falls into Utopia.

1— It’s a great movie. I watch it every year on Christmas Eve. But it’s not a Christmas Movie. It could have happened at any time of the year.

Today in Boston Sports History

Dec. 19

1984 — Bruins forward Terry O’Reilly earned 35 penalty minutes on nine total penalties in a loss to the Whalers.

O’Reilly had five minors - three roughing, a high stick and an elbow.

He had three majors, one in each period, all fights — two vs. Torrie Robertson and one with Chris Kotsopolous.

The Bruins had 68 penalty minutes as a team, but none by Lyndon Byers.

O’Reilly also had one assist.

Holiday Themed Lightning round

Whoever played “Feliz Navidad” during the Bruins-Mammoth tussle on Tuesday deserves an extra full socking next week.
The real Christmas heroes are people who leave up their 18-foot Halloween skeletons and just put a Santa hat on them.

Real Jeopardy! Question:

What is the Cotton Bowl?

Finally...

Happy Underdog Day to those who celebrate

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