How ESPN Graded Bruins’ Trade Of Forward Trent Frederic

The NHL trade deadline isn’t until Friday, but the Bruins made a move Tuesday.

Boston worked a deal with the Oilers and Devils that sent Trent Frederic and Max Jones to Edmonton. New Jersey was a third-party facilitator in the deal, retaining 25% of Frederic’s salary and acquiring a prospect. The B’s landed defenseman Max Wanner, the St. Louis Blues’ 2025 second-round pick and the Oilers’ 2026 fourth-round pick.

ESPN gave the Oilers a B+ for acquiring a player who adds forward depth and can be effective on the penalty kill. New Jersey got a B+ for the prospect it received, and the Bruins yielded an A- as the winner of the deal based on letter grades.

“That second-rounder they received should be upper-to-middle-range in the draft, given where the Blues are in the standings,” ESPN stated. “Boston didn’t have one of its own this season after trading it to Washington in 2023 in the Dmitry Orlov swap.

“Wanner is a 21-year-old, right-shooting defenseman who spent the past two seasons with the AHL Bakersfield Condors. He was buried on the Oilers’ depth chart, having struggled through a season that saw him miss time due to injury. Not a bad prospect for the Bruins to get into their pipeline.

“The Bruins also found a taker for the last year of that Jones contract ($1 million), which is a plus even though he was a minus in his seven games in Boston.”

Boston will still show fight in the final stretch of the season, but Tuesday’s trade showed the B’s are also keeping an eye toward the future.