The Washington Capitals have been linked to another potentially available forward ahead of the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline.
According to The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta, the Capitals are one of three teams rumored to have interest in Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic. They are reportedly joined in their interest by the Vancouver Canucks and Minnesota Wild.
Frederic is a former Bruins first-round pick, going 29th overall to Boston in the 2016 NHL Draft, one pick after the Capitals selected Lucas Johansen. The 26-year-old feisty forward recorded a career-high 40 points (18g, 22a) last season and is in the final year of the two-year, $4.6 million extension he signed with Boston in 2023. He is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Boston has underperformed expectations this season and currently sit out of a playoff spot. The club is one point behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card playoff position in the Eastern Conference and two points behind the Ottawa Senators for third in the Atlantic Division. Making matters worse, both Columbus and Ottawa have at least a game in hand over the Bruins, whose 54 games played this season ties for the league lead.
“With senior leadership in Boston acknowledging publicly that the team is considering becoming a seller ahead of the deadline, Frederic is a hot commodity,” the Athletic’s Chris Johnston wrote in his latest trade board article.
Frederic has considerably cooled off this season compared to his career-best 2023-24 campaign. In 52 games this year, he has recorded just 14 points (7g, 7a). However, Frederic has remained a hard-checking, physical presence, as his 142 hits would rank second on the Capitals behind just Tom Wilson (150). He has also gotten into four fights this season.
Capitals fans should be familiar with Frederic, who has had several notable interactions in past games against Washington. He dropped the gloves with Wilson two times during the 2020-21 season, tried to fight Alex Ovechkin, got speared in the nether regions by Ovechkin, and injured Beck Malenstyn with a late hit.
Frederic is a young, checking-line forward who can play both wing and center. The Capitals have several bottom-six forwards without a contract for next season: Nic Dowd, Lars Eller, Andrew Mangiapane, Taylor Raddysh, and Jakub Vrana.
Washington is reportedly seeking another top-nine forward at this year’s deadline. They have also been linked to Yanni Gourde, Brock Nelson, Brandon Tanev, and Jake Evans.