Bruins trade Trent Frederic to Edmonton Oilers
The Boston Bruins have already started wheeling and dealing ahead of Friday's NHL trade deadline, sending forward Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers in a three-team trade on Tuesday.
The deal nets the Bruins a pair of draft picks to help the franchise's rebuild -- St. Louis' second-round pick in 2025 and Edmonton's fourth-round pick in 2026 -- along with 21-year-old defenseman Max Wanner. The Bruins are also sending defenseman Max Jones to the Oilers and will retain half of Frederic's cap hit for the rest of the season, the team announced Tuesday.
The New Jersey Devils will pick up the rest of Frederic's cap hit, and are also acquiring unsigned draft choice Shane Lachance in the deal. Lachance is a North Andover native who is currently a sophomore at Boston University.
Trading Frederic is an indication that the Bruins are open for sale this trade season, and could be just the first move in what might be a busy week for Boston GM Don Sweeney. Several other Bruins players -- including Morgan Geekie, Brandon Carlo, and Brad Marchand -- have been attached to trade rumors ahead of Friday's 3 p.m. deadline.
Trent Frederic's 2024-25 season
The 6-foot-3, 221-pound Frederic will be a free agent after the season and is currently nursing a lower-body injury, but he'll bring a bruising skillset to the Oilers when he returns. The 27-year-old had eight goals and seven assists in his 57 games for Boston, but his 155 hits on the year were much more appealing to teams looking to add a little grit for the playoffs. Last season, Frederic led the Bruins with 204 hits to go along with 18 goals and 22 assists -- both of which were career highs for the 2016 first-round pick.
Frederic has been out since Feb. 25 when he sustained a lower-body injury in Boston's 5-4 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. But when he returns, he'll give the Oilers a versatile bottom-six forward who can also slide into their penalty kill unit.
Who is Max Wanner?
Wanner is a right-shot defenseman who was a seventh-round pick by the Oilers in 2021. He stands at 6-foot-3 and 184 pounds, and has eight goals and 11 assists over 90 career games at the AHL level. He played 22 games for the Bakersfield Condors this season, tallying one goal and one assist.
Wanner will report to the Providence Bruins, the team announced Tuesday.
The two draft picks are much more important for the Bruins though, as the team did not own a second-round pick in this year's draft until Tuesday's swap.
