Haggerty: All options available for active Bruins taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

Getty Images

The Bruins have everything on the table ahead of this weekend's NHL Draft, including moving up or down from the No. 7 overall pick and even trading more players away from their current NHL roster.

Bruins

Haggerty: All options available for active Bruins

By Joe Haggerty

Jun 26, 2025 • 2:25 pm

27comment-bubble

BRIGHTON – Don Sweeney made no bones about the modest place that the Bruins currently reside headed into this weekend’s NHL Draft, and into the July 1 open of NHL free agency when transactional fireworks are always anticipated ahead of the real ones on the Fourth of July.

The B’s general manager indicated more of his players could be dealt from the NHL roster, their collection of draft picks over the next couple of years could be partially utilized to make deals and moves upward or downward in the draft could very well also be on the table. That leaves a lot of options for significant roster improvement over the next couple of days. 

“I think there will be movement,” said Sweeney. “Teams that are jockeying to try and move up or slide back. [There are] teams with multiple picks and have a volume of picks that they can shuttle around. I think there will be some movement [ahead of the draft].”

Basically, all options are on the table for the B’s, and that’s really as it should be with a hockey team coming off a rock bottom finish in the Atlantic Division where core players were dealt away at the trade deadline.

And it feels like there is plenty of chatter turning into deals like the one that saw Buffalo move 23-year-old JJ Peterka to Utah in exchange for Michael Kesselring and Josh Doan, a hockey deal likely predicated on the Sabres inability to sign RFA Peterka to a contract extension after posting 27 goals and 68 points last season.

The Bruins finished 25th or worse in about every statistical category last season across the NHL, so there really shouldn’t be any untouchables, or any stones left unturned in terms of long-term roster improvement.

The catch with all of this, though, is that the moves will need to be for young, cost-controlled players that would be in the Black and Gold fold for the foreseeable future. These would be additions similar to bringing in Morgan Geekie as a low-cost forward and then watching him blossom into a 30-goal scorer with the Bruins last season.

“We’ve had a lot of discussions over the last month, month-and-a-half, of potential options with that pick,” said Sweeney. “We’re still exploring them as of today and probably tomorrow [on Thursday] as well. We feel very comfortable with making a selection.

“But we’re going to continue to see what could present between now and then. We would absolutely augment our roster if there’s an eye toward now and the future [with a potential trade]. I don’t think it’s a short-term acquisition we’d be inclined to make at this point in time.”

This boils down to ultimate flexibility from the Bruins to find top-6 forwards that can be brought into the fold for this coming season and beyond, and there are names out there fitting that job description at this point. The New York Islanders are one team that’s been very active while holding the No. 1 pick, and while facing tough negotiations with a defenseman in Noah Dobson that’s going to command a major maximum term contract.

That environment could make Dobson himself available, or it could make a player like 23-year-old Simon Holmstrom as a valued piece in a bigger deal. Names like Alexander Romanov and Jean-Gabriel Pageau have also been linked in discussions surrounding the Islanders, which could make for a really interesting set of scenarios with the Black and Gold.

During a recent Pucks with Haggs podcast, there was also speculation around moving Jeremy Swayman to the Mammoth for a first-round pick and 24-year-old forward Matias Maccelli to a Utah hockey team that should be on the lookout for goaltending help. Young, improving forwards like Holmstrom and Maccelli are exactly the kind of players that Boston is looking for as productive wingers that can take some of the pressure off Elias Lindholm, Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt to be line-driving forces at the center position.

 

Any potential maneuvering upwards in the first round could also allow the Bruins to land Boston College forward James Hagens, who has dropped slightly after he was looked at as a possible No. 1 overall pick entering his freshman season at the Heights. Hagens checks many of the boxes that Bruins decision makers are looking for in a young prospect (college pedigree, NTDP on the resume) and they'd be able to keep a very watchful eye on him at BC. 

The endless possibilities for B's improvement all stems from a movement toward pushing forward and ultimately pushing away from a group that disappointed in a big way last season.

“Ultimately we’re going to use all the opportunities that present to explore what will improve us now and moving forward,” said Sweeney. “We have to have an eye toward what we are capable of doing this year and in the coming years, in conjunction with the draft and building around that.

“It was our philosophy at the deadline, and realizing we had to take a step back and that we’re going to get back to a competitive mindset with an eye toward growing in the future. That’s what we had to do. As I said before, I don’t think you can be [successful] being stuck in neutral.”

While the focus is on the movement ahead of this weekend’s draft, one way or another, there will be a significant prospect added to the Bruins organization when Friday night’s first round has been completed.

Here’s a quick look at the players most likely to be available to the Bruins when they make their selection a day from now:

*Jake O’Brien – the classic playmaking center and power play weapon, he really elevated his status in his draft year with a great season in the OHL (Brantford) and might not even make it to the seventh overall pick at this point.

*Caleb Desnoyers – A solid all-around center that brings a two-way game, makes everybody around him better and has been one of the lead names in this draft class for a good, long time. The Bruins will be fortunate if Desnoyers gets to them and may be a player they’d be moving up to select higher in the first round.

*James Hagens – The 18-year-old “slid” out of contention for being the No. 1 overall pick after being a point-per-game player for Boston College as a true freshman, but is still going to be a top-10 pick and likely will be gone if the B’s stick in the seventh overall pick. The skating and the offense scream out dynamic offensive player that the Bruins could definitely use more of, and he is not far from being NHL-ready at this point. 

*Anton Frondell – Another projected center that’s actually played wing in his native Sweden recently, Frondell has a rocket shot and is advanced physically after playing in the elite men’s league in Sweden.

*Roger McQueen – A 6-foot-5 center that has garnered comparisons to recent Hall of Fame inductee Jumbo Joe Thornton, McQueen missed a long stretch of his draft season due to a back injury. McQueen returned for the end of the year and looked healthy, but the injury does create some questions for a massive first-round investment. 

*Brady Martin – Martin has a bit of a lower ceiling in terms of his high-end skill, but is a physical, energetic forward who doesn’t back down from much physically. He’s not huge, though, for the relentless game that he plays and the Bruins may opt for the higher-end skill with a first-round pick that high.

*Viktor Eklund  -- The younger brother of Sharks forward William Eklund, he’s a bit on the small side and undeniably skilled while bringing a formidable compete level to the table.  


Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
Loading sidebar...
27
Show comments for this article

Comments

Close panelClose