It really feels like perhaps the Boston Bruins dodged a bit of a bullet in the Rasmus Andersson trade situation, doesn’t it?
The B’s finished very publicly as the runner-up in trade talks for the Calgary Flames defensemen, as he ultimately went to his preferred destination with the Vegas Golden Knights after his agent declined contract extension overtures from the Black and Gold.
This all was happening amidst a trade offer from Don Sweeney that reportedly included Mason Lohrei, Matt Poitras and a first-round pick going to Calgary in exchange for a top-4 defender that would have given Boston a formidable top four of Charlie McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov and Andersson.
The Golden Knights, of course, also gave up a boatload for Andersson to secure the big-ticket D-man prior to the Olympic break, and that now leaves the Bruins in a position where they’ll be in scramble mode with just four NHL games on the docket prior to the March 6 trade deadline once play resumes around the league.
Andersson has a goal and four points along with a plus-3 rating in eight games since arriving in Vegas while topping 21 minutes a night as a top-4 defenseman, but the Golden Knights have lost five of those eight games, and had a few rough defensive outings before finishing up strong with back-to-back wins over Vancouver and Los Angeles.
At one point during that stretch, Cassidy referenced the new configurations on the back end and, never one to mince words, said “we need to be a hell of a lot more competitive in front of our own net.”
Clearly the Golden Knights brought in Andersson to improve their transition game and puck-moving out of their own zone, but there is a trade-off defensively with the 6-foot-1, 200-pound Andersson, who was a minus-38 for the Flames last season. That would have been a considerable challenge for a Boston Bruins team that still currently sits at a mediocre 18th in the league, allowing 3.14 goals per game. It was also noticeable that Andersson was the one taken out of the Swedish lineup — along with Elias Lindholm — after they were trounced by Finland during the Olympics, and that spurred the Swedes to play one of their best games of the tournament.
These are the top defence scoring chance creators from the preliminary round of the 2026 Men’s Olympic Hockey tournament.
1. 🇸🇰 Simon Nemec
2. 🇸🇪 Rasmus Dahlin
3. 🇨🇦 Cale Makar
4. 🇨🇦 Thomas Harley
5. 🇨🇭 Roman Josi pic.twitter.com/xL1fZfCLeq
— JFresh 🇨🇦 (@JFreshHockey) February 16, 2026
Instead of sputtering with a new piece as Vegas did, the Bruins caught fire ahead of the Olympic break, garnering 11 of a possible 14 points over the same span of time.
Now the Bruins move their sets to other potential trade candidates, and perhaps somehow convince Vancouver Canucks D-man Filip Hronek to waive his no-trade clause after looking really strong with Team Czechia during the Olympics, or maybe even a veteran blueliner like 33-year-old Justin Faulk as a faltering St. Louis club looks to be a seller ahead of the NHL trade deadline.
Hronek’s agent has been
