The Bruins' table will be mere spectators for much of the NHL Draft in Nashville.
Boston is without a pick in the first two rounds. The 2023 first-rounder was part of a package to Washington for Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway. This year's second-round pick was part of the framework to acquire Hampus Lindholm at the 2022 trade deadline. While we're keeping track, Boston also sent a fifth this year to Minnesota for their troubles in playing broker for the Orlov-Hathaway deal.
Now with one of the leanest cupboards in the league in terms of prospects and draft picks, the B's will likely be sitting on their hands until lunchtime on Thursday when they make their first pick of the draft at No. 92 overall in the third round. They have just five selections in this draft.
Add in a future first and fourth sent away for Bertuzzi, as well as a future second and a third in the Orlov-Hathaway move, and a Bruins team apparently in need of affordable, impactful youth is going to have to scavenge the lower ends of the draft and amateur free agent markets.
That's the price of loading up in the capped-out NHL these days.
With Taylor Hall gone in a cap-clearing move, the Bruins still have options on the table. Might trying to get back into the first or second round be one of them?
“Difficult task on the doorstep," Don Sweeney told reporters Tuesday of the prospect of moving up. "We’ve had some conversations. I don’t necessarily know if it’s going to take a lot of traction between now and then. You just never know. We’ve had certainly some opportunities, but obviously, we made a move yesterday that sort of put us in pause motion for a bit in terms of regrouping and how we’re going to fill the rest of the roster out after losing two quality individuals [Hall and Nick Foligno]."
Another deal in the name of cap space is possible, even if Sweeney is playing his cards close to the vest.
“No, we’re in a fine spot to be able to… We’ve always said that there is going to be some turnover associated with that," Sweeney said when asked if there would be more moves for cap space like the Hall and Foligno deal. "We certainly pushed a lot to the middle of the table in terms of trying to accomplish an ultimate goal and we fell short, and we have to regroup as a result. ... There are a couple of things that we still may look at. We're just not forced to do anything, to be perfectly honest with you."
Moving Matt Grzelcyk from a surplus on defense could fetch some needed cap space and draft capital, but certainly not a first-round pick. Any sell-high move involving Vezina-winner Linus Ullmark would likely recoup a moderately better return. Whether or not Ullmark can be parlayed into a lower-end first-round pick (and cap space) is anyone's guess. Goalies are voodoo, after all.
If Sweeney's words at face value are indeed true, and Bertuzzi does not re-sign and there are no additional moves, the Bruins will be left with what they have: a center group that could benefit greatly from either a Patrice Bergeron return or a trade, several holes on the wing as well as still strong defense and goaltending groups.
"For me, we’re comprised, our goaltending and defense is intact," Sweeney said. "We got to fill the forward group. ... There are certain guys who are going to push for opportunities, and there are several of our younger players who are eagerly awaiting that. That just might be the time that we have to do it."
In that case, Boston's outlook of still being a team in playoff contention would be in need of significant contributions from younger players in the forward group. The B's were already staring down the likelihood of needing graduates from Providence to fill out the nooks and crannies of the lineup, and that was before Sweeney threw cold water on the chances Bertuzzi returns to Boston.
"I was pretty honest at the end of the year, realizing that [roster turnover] might include some of our younger guys getting an opportunity or bringing in some players that might be looking for that platform or second opportunities, and that is just the nature of where we’re at right now," Sweeney said.
Cam Neely said, “When we went into last season with signing [David] Krejci and Bergeron, we kind of knew we were kicking the can down the road a little bit. We kind of figured we’d have to get some younger players into the lineup, and that’s what it’s looking like still.”
With the way Sweeney and Neely spoke on Tuesday, the can might just be running out of road.
Jakub Lauko, Marc McLaughlin and possibly John Beecher are in line for an opportunity to carve out bottom-six roles as Boston's higher-floor prospects. A leap from the skilled, high-ceiling youngsters like Georgii Merkulov or Fabian Lysell would certainly help patch up holes left by Hall and potentially Bertuzzi.
It's hard to imagine the Bruins being finished, even if Sweeney said they don't absolutely have to do anything else. If indeed there are moves still out there, as Elliotte Friedman believes, Boston has the chance to accomplish two things.
It would leave more wiggle room for last-minute negotiations with Bertuzzi's camp before he hits the market on July 1. His return would alleviate pressure from Merkulov and Lysell's shoulders to immediately be an answer at wing in the top-nine or top-six. Friedman reported that Bertuzzi remains the top priority, and he doesn't believe the Bruins are done.
A move would also present a potential chance to recoup draft capital that would serve a relatively barren pipeline well. Whether or not said capital is a first-round pick remains to be seen.
"There’s always talk about trying to move up," Neely said. "I mean if that happens, great. If not, we’re prepared for it."
