It is the annual question facing every NHL front office in the first days of March: Is it time to stand pat or pull the trigger on a deal that could make the difference in a team's playoff hopes? In these final, frenzied hours before Wednesday's trade deadline, teams are lining up into one of three camps: some are buyers, some are sellers, and many will hold onto the bulk of their assets.

The Bruins are clearly not sellers. By recent standards, it's an unusual position for them to be in. The playoffs, dare we say, are a foregone conclusion. The goal on Causeway Street ice this spring is for a deep playoff run.

A year ago the Bruins were headed to the playoffs, but as a fringe team with little or no hope to go all the way.

At the trade deadline, General Manager Peter Chiarelli opted not to pull the trigger on any of the rumored deals, deeming the cost for a Marian Hossa too high. Boston played the hand it was dealt and was knocked out of the Stanley Cup hunt in the first round by the Montreal Canadiens, the top seed in the Eastern Conference.

Now, the expectations are higher. The Bruins are in line to be the top seed in the East and have been flirting with the league's best record for much of the year.

A first-round loss would be a crushing blow to a team that has been selling out the Garden on a regular basis but is still looking to rebuild its fan base into a group of rabid hockey fanatics that once made Boston the true hub of hockey.

The Bruins have won just one playoff series in the last 14 years. One. Make no mistake, there is pressure on this team to be one of the final four teams standing in the playoffs – something that hasn't happened since 1992.

Can the Bruins get there without making a trade? Maybe. They've gotten this far, riding the offensive ability of Phil Kessel and Marc Savard, the energy of Milan Lucic and Byron Bitz, the defense of Zdeno Chara and the goaltending of Tim Thomas.

But injuries have diminished the team's core group -- the loss of Marco Sturm was especially damaging to the makeup of the team. Sturm's injury almost necessitates a deadline deal, forcing the Bruins to search for that one extra body to put them over the hump.

What would you be willing to give up? A year ago, Chiarelli held onto his young talent, and that group has blossomed into a true contender.

The Bruins were at this point back in 2004, closing in on a 104-point season and a division title. They had Joe Thornton, Sergei Samsonov, Mike Knuble, Brian Rolston and Glen Murray.

Realizing the opportunity at hand, the team added a dash of skill in Michael Nylander and a puck-rushing defenseman in Sergei Gonchar, one of the best in the game.

The end result? A first-round loss to the Montreal Canadiens. A year later, the league was in lockout mode, and two years later Thornton, Samsonov, Knuble, Rolston, Nylander and Gonchar were gone.

The point is, making a trade doesn't guarantee you anything. Remember when Eric Gagne was going to make the Red Sox bullpen the overwhelming difference in the postseason two years ago? The Sox still won it all that year, but did it in spite of Gagne.

There is a psychological boost to the players on a roster when they see management is "going for it." The Bruins want to send that message, and a rock-solid defenseman to help bolster playoff toughness is a great way to do that.

The price is high, but missing a window of opportunity and a chance to cap off a magical season might be much more costly.

Tom Caron is the studio host for Red Sox broadcasts on the New England Sports Network. His column appears in the Press Herald on Tuesdays.