The speculation is growing rampant by the minute regarding Peter Chiarelli’s status as the team’s General Manager. Many reports suggest that if the Boston Bruins do not make the playoffs, the Harvard grad, along with head coach Claude Julien, could be relieved of their duties.

As the pressure mounts for Chiarelli to acquire a key piece or two at the trade deadline the Bruins are just hoping at this rate to keep the Panthers, Flyers and Senators at bay for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

For a team that’s spent the last several seasons on top of the East – to go along with their Stanley Cup win in 2011 – the 2014-15 Bruins have taken a fall from grace. It is why Chiarelli, who is still trying to pursue a tough trade market, knows that his job is on the line.

“When things aren’t going well and there’s a perception in the media that there’s a dark cloud looming over our heads, it’s harder to make trades,” the ninth-year Bruins GM told The Boston Globe’s Fluto Shinzawa. “Guys know when you’re at a disadvantage. When that stuff is out there, it’s very difficult.”

The good news for Chiarelli is that he has a little more cap space to work with after the B’s put David Krejci and Kevan Miller on long-term injured reserve. Miller will miss the rest of the season after re-injuring his shoulder while Krejci’s partially torn MCL on his left knee will keep him out 4-6 weeks.

As much responsibility as Chiarelli bears for the makeup of the 2014-15 B’s, the sense of urgency needs to spread from the top down. Not only for management and coaches but to the players as well.

“I believe in this group. I believe that we’re going to turn around and it’s important that the players and I feel the same way. This is where I need to stand up and do my job,” Julien told the press after Thursday’s practice at Ristuccia Arena in Wilmington.

“I’m not getting down, but I’m frustrated at times. But believing and staying strong are two things I feel right now.”

The focus for the Bruins right now is to create some distance from the teams chasing them for that final playoff spot. That begins tonight when they face a Devils team that they’ve already beaten twice and tomorrow against a lowly Arizona Coyotes squad. Anything less than four points in the next two games will be considered a failure. Otherwise – as if the team is not already in panic mode – the desperation level will be even higher for the Black and Gold.

The best case scenario is for Chiarelli to acquire a piece like Joffery Lupul, Antoine Vermette, Michael Ryder and Keith Yandle to really spark the club. Even so, it’s up to the core guys like Milan Lucic, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask (to name a few) to step up and play their best hockey. If that happens, the Bruins could very well resemble a similar performance to their red-hot month of January where they went 8-1-3 in 12 games.

The worst case scenario? Chiarelli fails on the market and the Bruins’ core can’t find their mojo.

Not only would the jobs for Chiarelli and Julien be in jeopardy if the B’s miss the playoffs – or even fail to win a round (in Chiarelli’s case) – but the future would be uncertain for a few members of the B’s core – like Marchand, Lucic and even Chara – that have brought them success. A new GM and/or coach will want to start from scratch and many of the current players may not be in their plans.