Bruins analyst Andrew Raycroft slams calls to trade Patrice Bergeron as ‘crazy’

With the Bruins staring down an uphill battle to make the Eastern Conference playoffs this season, NHL pundits and local radio hosts are starting to ask a controversial question: should Boston trade longtime center and captain Patrice Bergeron?

After WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” guest Mike Milbury made the case for the Bruins to move the aging star on Thursday morning, NESN’s Andrew Raycroft went on the station’s “Gresh and Keefe” show to say “no way.”

“It’s crazy. It doesn’t make any sense to me,” the former Bruins goaltender said. “The Bruins are in the playoffs right now on points percentage. Of any of the sports, it’s hockey that we know if you get in, you have a chance. This Patrice Bergeron thing, it should just go away. It really should. It doesn’t make any sense at all. It’s crazy to me.”

Raycroft’s unequivocal opposition to trading Bergeron stands in stark contrast to Milbury, who insisted earlier on Thursday the Bruins should consider a move because the team doesn’t look to be a Stanley Cup contender. Boston currently sits in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, just outside of the playoff picture.

“The fact that they might not make [the playoffs] is a real possibility. So what do you do in that situation? Bergeron’s [36],” Milbury said. “…this is a question that good teams face all the time. They run through a cycle and they get to a point where, you have Bergeron, we have this affinity for him, we love the guy, but if you’re really going to do business the right way, it’s probably time to move on, to be honest with you…If you think the time is up for this run, then it’s time to move on and time to make really hard decisions.”

Milbury also threw in Brad Marchand as another veteran player that might net draft picks or other future capital back from a contending team in a trade.

On the other hand, though, the Bruins are a mere three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings in the standings with 60 games still to play.

That’s why Raycroft says he wouldn’t seriously consider trading either Bergeron or Marchand at this time.

“I can’t picture it, because it wouldn’t happen. It’s just not happening,” Raycroft said. “…Do you think they’re on Pittsburgh radio talking about trading Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin right now?

“It’s just crazy that this has come up again. When you’re talking about two players that are going to play on the Canadian Olympic team, which is the hardest hockey team to make in the world — they’re both going to be on it. They’re carrying their team…and you want to blow it up. It just seems so unrealistic.”

It’s also worth noting Bergeron has a “no-movement” clause in his contract, meaning he could only be traded to three pre-approved teams, while Marchand has a full no-trade clause through the end of the season. As such, the Bruins would likely have to convince either one to accept a deal to a contender or elsewhere.

If Boston can’t sneak into one of the last two Eastern Conference playoffs seeds, though, perhaps the team and the mainstays in question might decide a change of scenery is best after all.