Five predictions for the NHL Draft - Noah Hanifin stays put, Torey Krug may not

DALLAS – The NHL Draft begins at 7:30 p.m. and concludes Saturday with rounds two through seven. Here are five Bruins and NHL-related predictions for the weekend:

Bruins stay out of the first round: Don Sweeney and the Bruins front office took a home run swing when they sent their 26th overall pick to the Rangers for Rick Nash and now they’re dealing with the fallout. There are a lot of teams that were willing to make a deadline deal in order to bolster their team for a Stanley Cup run. The Bruins went for it and they were eliminated in the second round. It’ll be challenging to get back into the first round. The question is how high would the Bruins be willing to go, and at what cost is it worth it? Jake DeBrusk, Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, and Brandon Carlo give the Bruins a solid, young core. Ryan Donato is likely on the way to his first full season with the team. Plus the Bruins have great depth coming through from Providence. It wouldn’t make much sense to part with some of that talent, only to set the process back another two or three years to develop a draft pick.

“This is buyer’s remorse where we sit right now without a first-round pick,” Sweeney said. “We spent a lot of time with our scouts in the last few days and really tightening up the list and you feel badly. We took a swing, and I don’t feel bad for taking that swing. It just didn’t work out.”

Carolina does not trade Noah Hanifin: The price for Hanifin is going to be exorbitant and I don’t think there’s any team willing to match it. It’s not that there won’t be teams willing to part with assets, but it’ll be more of whether Carolina feels the offers are acceptable. I do not think Carolina comes to that conclusion. It’s likely the Hurricanes would be asking for a top-10 pick, an NHL-ready player who can be plugged into the top of the lineup, plus a prospect. That’s a big bounty for a player who’s not considered the best defenseman from the 2015 draft class who’s also due for a new contract.

Bruins will trade Torey Krug: Still not even sure if I truly feel this is the best move for the Bruins, but it feels like there’s a willing suitor in Edmonton. Krug has offensive talent that’s hard to replace, but my gut is that the Bruins want to change the look of their defense. They signed Grzelcyk to a two-year deal earlier this week, a player whose style is similar to Krug’s though not nearly as proven. Krug is due $10.5 million over the next two years and moving Krug would give them some breathing room. He’s not the worst contract on the Bruins (see David Backes, David Krejci), but he will likely get a decent return. It won’t be for a draft pick, though. I think the Oilers keep their No. 10 pick and send the Bruins Oscar Klefbom, and perhaps their second-round pick at No. 40.

Jack Drury will be selected at No. 57: Sweeney did say Thursday that while he feels left out of the first round, that he believes there’s a lot of good talent that will be available at No. 57. There’s a lot to like about Jack Drury, particularly his rich family history. His dad Ted and uncle Chris have likely provided lots of insight to the 18-year-old Harvard commit. He’s a strong two-way center who puts a lot of emphasis on the mental side of his game, qualities that will sit well with the Bruins. Sweeney has drafted seven centers in his first three drafts and values their versatility. He said he felt that centers can make a more natural switch to either wing position more easily than wingers can transition to center.

The top half of the draft could get crazy: Seems like we’ve known for five years that the Buffalo Sabres are going to draft Rasmus Dahlin, the uber-talented Swedish defenseman. He’s been the bonafide top pick of the draft and the Sabres were lucky enough to win the lottery. Carolina picks second and will likely take Russian right-wing Andrei Svechnikov. After that, the Canadiens could shake things up at No. 3. There’s a host of teams who have multiple picks. The Rangers have three first-rounders. THREE. At Nos. 9, 26 and 28. The Islanders have consecutive picks at Nos. 11 and 12. The Flyers pick at No. 14 and No. 19. Ottawa also has two picks at No. 4 and No. 22. The Red Wings pick at No. 6 and again at No. 30. There’s going to be some deals. Let’s get weird.