Four Bruins trades impacted their 2024 NHL draft position

The Boston Bruins finished the 2022-23 season with a 47-20-15 record, ranking second in the Atlantic Division and sixth overall in the NHL.

They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs before losing to the Florida Panthers in the second round. Their southern rivals eliminated them for the second season in a row.

Despite being a top-10 team in the league, the Bruins will not make a selection in the 2024 Entry Draft until the fourth round. This year will be the first in team history that they will not have a pick in the first three rounds of a draft, unless general manager Don Sweeney makes a deal to acquire another pick before 122nd overall.

If fans are wondering why Boston no longer has their first, second, and third-round picks, here’s a quick rundown of the deals that resulted in those lost draft picks and how the trades have played out thus far.

Seventh Round Pick (218th) – Traded Feb. 22, 2022

Boston trades a 2024 seventh-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for the signing rights to Michael Callahan.

Sweeney surrendered their seventh-round pick to the Arizona Coyotes on February 22, 2022, for the chance to sign Michael Callahan. On March 7, 2024, the Coyotes traded the pick to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Troy Stecher and a 2027 seventh-round pick.

Meanwhile, the Bruins have signed Callahan, who plays for the Providence Bruins, as an alternate captain for the 2023-24 season. He played 138 games and scored 66 points for Providence College over four seasons, serving as team captain the last three. He has 27 points in 140 American Hockey League games and will be a restricted free agent this summer.

Third Round Pick (90th) – Traded Feb. 23, 2023

Boston trades Craig Smith, a 2023 first-round pick (Easton Cowan, 8th overall), a 20245 Third-Round pick (90th), and a 2025 second-round pick to the Washington Capitals. Boston trades a 2023 fifth-round pick (Melvin Strahl, 156th overall) to the Minnesota Wild. 

Washington trades Dmitry Orlov at half salary ($2.255 million) to Minnesota for the signing rights to Andrei Svetlakov. Boston receives Garnet Hathaway and Andrei Svetlakov (signing rights) from Washington and Dmitry Orlov at half salary ($1.275 million) from Minnesota.

Sweeney and the Bruins go all in at the 2023 trade deadline to win the Stanley Cup, concluding the season with an NHL record 65 victories and 135 points. They retooled their lineup by adding Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov, as well as the rights to Andrei Svetlakov, who now plays in the KHL.

Hathaway (25 games) and Orlov (23 games) scored 16 points during the regular season and nine more in 14 postseason games. However, neither player remained with the team, choosing to seek free agency, with Orlov signing with the Carolina Hurricanes and Hathaway joining the Philadelphia Flyers. Meanwhile, Svetlakov continues to play in the Kontinental Hockey League, where he made his professional debut in 2015-16 before being selected in the sixth round (178th overall) by the Minnesota Wild in 2017.

Following this transaction, the Washington Capitals traded their 2023 first-round pick to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Rasmus Sandin for Erik Gustafsson trade on February 28, 2023, with the pick being converted into Easton Cowen. Cowan is tearing it up in the Ontario Hockey League, where he has been the regular season and playoff MVP. Meanwhile, the Wild were involved in the deal to offset Orlov’s contract and acquired a fifth-round pick, which turned out to be goaltender Melvin Strahl, who currently plays junior hockey in Sweden.

Second Round Pick (58th) – Traded Mar. 19, 2022

Boston trades a 2022 first-round pick (Nathan Gaucher, 22nd overall), a 2023 second-round pick (Damian Clara, 60th overall), and a 2024 first-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks for Hampus Lindholm at half salary ($2.602 million) and Kodie Curran. 

Sweeney went all-in at the 2022 trade deadline, acquiring Hampus Lindholm and Kodie Curran from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for three draft picks, including their 2024 first-round pick. When Lindholm arrived in Boston, he signed an eight-year contract worth $6.5 million per year. Lindholm led the NHL with a plus-49 rating and scored a career-high 53 points in his first season with the Bruins, 2022-23.

Curran is a KHL player and Dinamo Minsk’s alternate captain. He spent two seasons in the AHL with the San Diego Gulls and Providence Bruins before moving to Russia two years ago. At 34, he is not under contract with any NHL team as of May 2024.

The Ducks selected Nathan Gaucher with their first-round pick in 2022, after he ended his first season in the AHL with the Gulls, scoring 25 points in 72 games. He played four seasons in the QMJHL, totaling 158 points in 199 games. Anaheim selected Damian Clara, an unsigned Italian goalie who plays in Sweden’s SHL, as their second-round choice in 2023.

First Round Pick (25th) – Traded Mar. 2, 2023

Boston trades a 2024 First Round pick (Conditional – Top 10 protected) and a 2025 Fourth Round pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Tyler Bertuzzi at half salary ($2.375 million).