When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had a fire sale at the trade deadline in March of 2025, he shipped out some key players from his roster. You could say he blew things up.
Gone were Brad Marchand, Justin Brazeau, Brandon Carlo, Trent Frederic, and Charlie Coyle as notable players who left in deals. Sure, some of the returns were good, with prospect Fraser Minten looking like it was worth the trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, there was one trade where general manager Don Sweeney might want a do-over given the current makeup of the roster.
What if the Bruins didn't trade Charlie Coyle?
To quickly recap, the Bruins sent Coyle to the Mile High City for prospect Will Zellers, Casey Mittlestadt, and a 2025 second-round draft pick. Sure, Zellers has a lot of promise, and Mittlestadt played well on the Black and Gold's second line in 2025-26 with Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson, but given the question marks surrounding the Bruins' centers, would it still be worth it if Coyle were in Boston and re-signed?
Some may laugh, but how are the Bruins supposed to get better down the middle, currently, the way they are constructed? They haven't pulled off a trade yet to address the issue, which leads you to believe that they are running it back with Lindholm, Zacha, and hoping Fraser Minten can slide up and potentially handle a top-six role.
Coyle was traded last summer to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and what a season he had in a contract year. He had 20 goals and 38 assists and averaged just over 18 minutes a night. Boston would have welcomed that production this past season.
More importantly, Coyle would make Bruins fans feel a whole lot better about the center situation going into next season. Coyle inked a six-year deal with the Blue Jackets for $36 million with a $6 million AAV. However, Coyle remaining with the Bruins and signing an extension with fewer years would have made sense for the current contention window.
Boston has one huge need left, and given the limited options they have, having Coyle on the current roster is not a bad option to have.
