Bruins
A new mock draft has the Bruins striking a deal with Vancouver in order to acquire the No. 15 pick.
Don Sweeney and the Bruins accumulated a haul of draft picks amid a season gone awry.
Beyond Boston’s own first-round pick (No. 7 overall) drawn out of a miserable 2024-25 campaign, the Bruins’ sell-off at the trade deadline also secured:
2025 second-round pick (via Edmonton)
2025 second-round pick (via Colorado)
2025 fourth-round pick (Toronto)
2026 conditional first-round pick (Toronto – top-5 protected)
2026 sixth-round pick (Minnesota)
2027/2028 first-round pick (Florida)
If the Bruins opt to stand pat with this trove of draft selections, Boston should have the means to restock what has been an underwhelming cupboard of prospects.
But as Boston begins the arduous process of retooling around the likes of David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, could the Bruins opt to shed ever more NHL talent off their roster in order to accumulate more picks?
In a new mock draft posted by The Athletic last week, the Bruins used that No. 7 pick to select playmaking center Jake O’Brien, a familiar name linked to Boston in several other mock drafts.
But beyond adding a blue-chip center into their system, the Bruins also acquired the No. 15 pick from Vancouver in this mock draft.
Here are the details of this proposed deal with the Canucks:
Bruins acquire pick No. 15 (used to select D Jackson Smith) and forward Nils Hoglander
Canucks acquire forwards Pavel Zacha and Marat Khusnutdinov
If the Bruins are choosing to play the long game when it comes to this retool/rebuild, moving on from an established NHL forward who may not be part of Boston’s equation during their next contention window could make sense, especially if lands another first-round pick.
While this current draft class isn’t exactly top-heavy, snagging the No. 15 pick from Vancouver would allow Boston to add another intriguing prospect to their system, be it a potential top-four D like Smith or a pugnacious middle-six winger like Carter Bear.
Acquiring more draft capital could also give Sweeney more options if he’s looking for immediate returns this offseason — as the No. 15 pick could also be flipped in a package deal for one of the many rumored mid-20s stars reportedly dangled out on the trade market like Martin Necas or Jason Robertson.
If the Bruins were able to give up the No. 15 pick (along with several other future draft picks) to add a player like Necas while also keeping that No. 7 pick, it would be the best of both worlds for Boston, giving them an already impactful talent and potentially a center for the future.
Hoglander could also be another intriguing reclamation project for Marco Sturm and the Bruins.
The 24-year-old winger had a poor season in 2024-25 with just eight goals and 25 points over 72 games. But, the 5-foot-9 winger scored 24 goals and posted a career-high 36 points the previous season, and is signed for three more seasons at a pretty affordable $3 million cap hit. If he regains his form, Hoglander could be a useful third-line forward on a team like Boston.
Still, Zacha would be a sizable loss for a Bruins forward corps already lacking in terms of proven commodities. With the salary cap spiking the next few years, Zacha arguably holds one the best contracts in the league at a $4.75 million cap hit through the 2026-27 season.
The 28-year-old Zacha is a versatile cog in Boston’s lineup capable of playing both center and wing — and has surpassed 50 points in two of his three seasons so far with the Bruins.
If the Bruins are able to right the ship in a season or two, the case can be made that Zacha can still be a steady contributor on a reworked roster.
But, if the Bruins are realistically looking at a longer stretch spent building their roster back up, moving more players off their roster could maximize future returns in the coming years.
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