BOSTON — Charlie Coyle is a center for the Boston Bruins. But when he was with the Minnesota Wild, Coyle described himself as a rover, asked to play right wing as well as in the middle.
It was partly with that history in mind that interim coach Joe Sacco tabbed Coyle as his full-time No. 2 right wing on Saturday for the first time this season. By shifting Coyle to the second line with Brad Marchand and Elias Lindholm, Sacco sees more top-six firepower. It’s a commodity he needs.
“We did it against Calgary. I thought that line responded well,” Sacco said of Coyle’s temporary right-wing ride on Dec. 17. “A lot of it has to do with the opponents and what we’re seeing from the opposition as far as their lineups and certain matchups we may want to try to unfold during the course of a game. It just gives us a chance to see how three of our top players can play together again. I want to see Charlie there. It gives him an opportunity to maybe generate some more offense with those guys too.”
Coyle scored the opening goal in the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. As soon as Coyle finished serving a hooking penalty, he stepped out of the box to receive a Nikita Zadorov pass. Moments later, Coyle converted the last of three in-tight whacks on James Reimer for his eighth goal.
Coyle kept at it👌 pic.twitter.com/tnEjUOJFUE
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) December 22, 2024
“It looked like it just stayed there,” Coyle said of the puck. “I think his pad was kind of turned over. So I could see it was just under. It wasn’t fully covered. It was like a tunnel. All I had to do was hit it. I think I was getting whacked in the face too a few times. But finally got it. Well worth it.”
There was a secondary perk to moving Coyle to right wing. Any general manager inquiring about Trent Frederic now has a full game’s worth of shifts to determine how the unrestricted free agent-to-be might play at center.
Frederic, previously Coyle’s left wing, moved to the middle between Justin Brazeau and Oliver Wahlstrom against the Sabres. Frederic has made his NHL name at wing, both left and right.
But one of the reasons the Bruins might put Frederic in play is because he is a natural center. Teams are always interested in multi-position forwards, especially those as belligerent as Frederic. Versatility is among the factors Frederic is No. 5 on The Athletic’s trade board.
The trade deadline is March 7. GM Don Sweeney has more than three months to determine whether he will re-sign or trade the 26-year-old. It is unlikely Sweeney will allow Frederic to follow Jake DeBrusk out the door and get nothing besides $2.3 million in cap space.
One of the questions Sweeney has to answer is Frederic’s contract value. Aside from occasional second-line shifts, Frederic has made his Boston home on the No. 3 line. He scored a career-high 18 goals last year. This season, he has just five. Third-line forwards with inconsistent offense are usually approached with caution when it comes to talking contract.
Frederic was muted in 13:02 of play against the Sabres. He didn’t attempt a single shot. He lost three of four faceoffs. He played 1:23 on the penalty kill, 64 seconds more than he usually averages in short-handed action per game. Frederic did not see any power-play time.
Brazeau had one shot. Wahlstrom, making his TD Garden debut following his waiver claim, had none. In 8:13 of five-on-five time, per Natural Stat Trick, the No. 3 line was outshot, 3-0.
“I’d have to look at it again,” Sacco answered when asked what he saw from Frederic at center. “I thought the third line, if you want to call it the third line, I thought they were OK tonight. They held their own.”
It isn’t easy for a wing to move back to the middle. The Bruins ask their centers to execute a lot of defensive heavy lifting, from supporting the defensemen down low to being available up high to negate passing lanes. It may have been one reason Frederic didn’t make much offensive noise.
But that’s been part of the overall pattern for the rugged forward this season. He punched in two of his five goals against the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 7. But he has gone without a point in the six games that have followed.
Saturday marked Frederic’s 315th NHL game. He’s scored 52 goals and 53 assists. He has 23 fights, the latest being a one-punch takedown of David Gustafsson. Frederic has been a good third-liner for the Bruins. He is popular with his teammates, and not just because he’s first in line to come to their defense.
But if another GM sees more in Frederic, perhaps even at center, it is Sweeney’s responsibility to consider the offer.
