Bruins trade Trent Frederic to Oilers as part of 3-team trade

The Bruins will receive a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 fourth-round pick for Frederic.

Trent Frederic is expected to be out weeks due to injury. Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

March 4, 2025

2 minutes to read

With the NHL trade deadline set for 3 p.m. on Friday, Don Sweeney and the Bruins have started their sell-off.

The Bruins announced Tuesday that they traded forward Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers as part of a three-team trade involving the New Jersey Devils.

As part of the deal, the Bruins dealt Frederic and Providence forward Max Jones to Edmonton in exchange for defenseman Max Wanner, a 2025 second-round draft pick (from St. Louis), and a 2026 fourth-round draft pick from the Edmonton Oilers. Boston also retains 50 percent of Frederic’s salary for the remainder of this season.

The Devils will retain the other 50 percent of Frederic’s salary in order to facilitate his trade to Edmonton, with the Oilers giving New Jersey the rights to prospect (and Boston University captain) Shane Lachance as part of the swap.

As the Bruins continue to see their playoff hopes dwindle (Moneypuck has them at just a 9.4 percent chance of clinching a postseason berth), moving on from a pending unrestricted free agent in Frederic felt like an inevitable outcome.

Not only was Frederic a player who Boston may not necessarily be comfortable with handing a sizable pay raise, but his blend of snarl and secondary scoring made him the type of player that most teams bracing for the playoffs would covet.

After tallying 40 points (18 goals, 22 assists) last season, Frederic has only scored eight goals and posted 15 points so far this season — with the 27-year-old forward currently “week to week” after suffering a lower-body injury last week against the Maple Leafs.

Even with Frederic sidelined, the Oilers clearly placed a premium on Frederic’s ability to add some heft to their lineup for the playoffs — with Edmonton currently tabbed with the fewest hits in the NHL this season.

By moving on from a soon-to-be free agent in Frederic, the Bruins will move back into the second round of the 2025 NHL Draft — where they should be able to restock what has been a barren prospect pipeline over the last few seasons.

Boston traded its own 2025 second-round pick in February 2023 as part of the deal with the Capitals that brought in both Dmitri Orlov and Garnet Hathaway.

Wanner, 21, has spent his entire career in the AHL ranks so far. The 6-foot-3, right-shot defenseman appeared in 22 games with the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) this season, recording one goal and one assist for two points.

If the Bruins were able to get a second-round pick for a banged-up rental in the midst of a down season, it stands as a further sign that the Bruins could take advantage of trade market with plenty of buyers looking to make a playoff push.