If you were to go to a bank and give the teller a $10 bill and ask for two $5s in return, you'd believe you got equal value, right?

	Bill Guerin will likely be the next high-end player high tailing it out of Boston.

Well, that might be true in the world of money, but in hockey, the $10 bill is worth more every time.

Ostensibly, the Bruins traded their $10 bill -- center Jason Allison -- to the Los Angeles Kings for a pair of fives -- Jozef Stumpel and Glen Murray. On the face of it, it doesn't look like a bad move. Murray has been on fire so far this season, scoring 11 points in the first nine games he played. Stumpel has started slowly with five points -- one of them a goal -- in nine games.

Boston is looking for the two to add the scoring boost the club so desperately needs, after they scored just eight goals in their just-completed six-game road trip.

Whether the trade works out or not, once again, the Bruins proved that they will not venture into the salary stratosphere where teams such as the Avalanche, Rangers, Islanders, Blues and a few others reside.

The old label of the Bruins being cheap can't be applied anymore despite the perception, as they're paying out $20 million over four years to right wing Martin Lapointe.

But the trade of Allison does make you wonder in what direction the team really is headed.

Every year, there is some key player holding out for more money. Last year, it was Anson Carter. The year before it was Byron Dafoe. And now Allison.

Even if Murray and Stumpel provide an adequate one-two punch, giving up a 26-year-old front line center for two 29-year-old forwards still leaves a sour taste.

Bruins' general manager Mike O'Connell said he bit on the deal because it was the best one out there. He said the timing had nothing to do with the skid the team was in, but you have to believe that it did. Sure, the Bruins should be a competitive team in the Eastern Conference, especially with a healthy Dafoe between the pipes, but wouldn't they have been better with Allison in the lineup than two middle-of-the-road forwards?

Of course they would have. But the Bruins do business differently than a good many teams. And like it or not, and they will continue to do so.

If they make it through a round or two of the playoffs, the Bruins make a substantial profit and owner Jeremy Jacobs is happy. A Stanley Cup? That would almost have to happen by accident or luck or impenetrable netminding.

O'Connell said the move will take the pressure off 22-year-old Joe Thornton. But the fact is, only the acquisition of a true No. 1 center -- either by trade or by retaining Allison -- would really do the trick. The Bruins now have a bunch of No. 2 pivotmen and still no No. 1.

No matter what happens this year, it is going to shape up as another tough summer. Right wing Bill Guerin will become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the year. He and his agent, Bob Murray, have said they don't want to negotiate on a new, long-term contract during the season. With only one kick at the can at age 31, Guerin would be crazy not to test the market, especially after the season he had last year. What may complicate Guerin's situation is not having a No. 1 center to dish him the puck. In addition to losing Allison's great strength and abilities down low, they also lose his playmaking skills, of which Guerin was the biggest beneficiary.

If the Bruins are going to lock in their future, they should throw their money in Dafoe's direction. It's possible that Dafoe, too, would rather test the unrestricted free-agent market especially if he has a similar season to 1998-99 when he was a runner-up for the Vezina Trophy as the league's top goalie.

However, the front office would be reluctant to lock in Dafoe to a long-term deal given his injury history and advancing age so it's likely he, too, will be playing somewhere else next season.

So, the cycle continues. The Bruins have talent, yes. They have good goaltending, a strong core of forwards and pretty good defense, although they lack a consistent scorer behind the blue line. They just have no superstar, no one player to put them over the top.

They will only go so far. For Bruins' fans, it's not enough. For the front office and ownership, it's as far as they're willing to go. Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.