Through all of Don Sweeney’s mad wheeling and dealing over the last 10 days, the rookie general manger changed the Bruins roster considerably, though he could not change the underlying truth: The B’s are still no one’s idea of a Stanley Cup favorite.
But that’s OK. With Sweeney’s work on Wednesday in obtaining Matt Beleskey and Jimmy Hayes while dumping some unwanted money in Marc Savard’s contract ($4 million) and Reilly Smith ($3.4 million over the next two years), he has put the team in a better position to tread water (i.e., squeak into the playoffs). And for the next season or two, that’s all you can reasonably expect from the Bruins until — cross your fingers — some of the high draft picks pay dividends.