TAMPA, Fla. — Charlie Coyle went first. Brandon Carlo was next. Brad Marchand completed the hat trick.
As Friday’s trades stacked up one atop another, Jeremy Swayman could not believe how rapidly his surroundings were crumbling. The Boston Bruins goalie had barely finished changing out of his post-practice gear at TGH Ice Plex next to Coyle and Carlo. Now they were ex-teammates, just like Justin Brazeau and Trent Frederic had been earlier in the week.
That broke the goalie’s heart.
“It’s just complete, unexpected stuff,” Swayman said following Saturday’s emotional 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. “I know none of those guys wanted to leave and they wanted to see it through here. We had the ability to see it through here with those guys. That’s just the most devastating part, I think. It was a roller-coaster of emotions. The human side of me was crushed.”
The swiftness and ruthlessness of general manager Don Sweeney’s actions left a mark on the remaining players. That Sweeney moved out the captain and two of the players who wore letters in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes knocked David Pastrnak sideways. On Saturday, the Bruins’ best player remained in disbelief.
“When I woke up today, I honestly thought it was a dream,” said Pastrnak. “Yesterday, with so much going on, today the reality really hits. That, I would say, was a little harder this morning. But we are still professional hockey players. You have a job to do. You have to make sure you get the mindset ready and look forward.”
Pastrnak was the Bruins’ lone alternate captain against the Lightning. It was fitting.
In some ways, Pastrnak is all alone now. Charlie McAvoy, his fellow alternate, is in Boston, recovering from a shoulder injury. Hampus Lindholm is also not with the club, most likely out for the year because of his broken patella.
The Bruins are now Pastrnak’s team, with McAvoy and Swayman sharing top-tier ownership.
“I am one of the oldest guys in the group,” the 28-year-old said with a smile. “We’re missing Chucky and Hampus here, which are a big part of our group. Definitely missed them yesterday in the hard times like that. But we do recognize we have a lot of jobs to do and more responsibility. Yes, we do.”
Sweeney had to make his moves to recalibrate a roster that had grown slow and gray. Friday, along with his earlier trades of Brazeau and Frederic, marked the initial step toward reframing the Black and Gold around Pastrnak, McAvoy and Swayman. It will not be easy for the GM to accelerate the turnaround to align with the windows of his three stars’ primes. The 2026 first-round pick Sweeney acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs for Carlo, for example, may not become a roster player until Pastrnak is 32, perhaps past the peak of his powers.
It will be up to the Bruins’ foundational players to hold the line until reinforcements arrive.
“I love those guys,” Swayman said. “The fact that we can’t continue to play together, make memories and push through is devastating. So the message in here was just, ‘We still have a job to do.’ They did so much for this organization. They left the groundwork for us to build off of. It’s our job, the guys still in this room, to continue their legacy.”
Jakub Lauko knows better than most what his former teammates meant to the franchise. The 24-year-old, picked 77th overall by the Bruins in 2018, was happy to be rejoining Marchand, Carlo and Coyle when the Minnesota Wild traded him back to his draft team on Thursday.
A day later, Lauko’s delight swung to sadness. Lauko was gone for only 38 games. So he knows as well as anyone what it meant for his friends to exit.
“Little bit of a sullen day yesterday,” Lauko said on Saturday. “When I knew I was going here, I was excited to see the guys. Those guys left. That’s the hockey. Everyone knows and everyone feels this team took a huge hit with the guys leaving. Big part of the Boston Bruins in the last few years. Marshy, Brando, Ceec, Freddy, those guys have been around and they were the ones carrying the culture. So it’s a big hit. It’s on us right now.”
Considering how hard their knees buckled on Friday, the Bruins were proud of how quickly they regrouped against the Lightning, who went the other way. Tampa brought in Yanni Gourde and Oliver Bjorkstrand in preparation for another Stanley Cup sprint. The Bruins, meanwhile, rolled out a lineup that had just one full-time NHL unit. The other three lines had at least one player who has spent part of 2024-25 in the AHL — Vinni Lettieri on the second line, Marat Khusnutdinov on the third and Patrick Brown on the fourth.
Cole Koepke, riding on the No. 2 line with Lettieri and newbie Casey Mittelstadt, scored twice. Swayman looked like an ace in his 26-save shutout.
“It’s the worst side of the business we are in,” Pastrnak said. “But we have to stick together in the tough moments. On the other hand, it’s the beauty of the sport. You have 20 friends you can rely on. We are in this together. We’re not losing any hope.”
(Photo of Jeremy Swayman making a save against the Lightning: Mike Carlson / Getty Images)
