Don Sweeney executed a major piece of business on Monday by acquiring the No. 25 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. It was a point of emphasis for the Boston Bruins general manager to grant first-round action to an amateur scouting staff that was idle on the opening night of the previous two drafts.
“Getting back into the top part of the draft was important for us,” Sweeney told reporters in Las Vegas on Thursday. “It’s not an easy task at this time of the year. Those don’t trade hands very often at this point in time. But the opportunity was there. Hopefully we can take advantage of it.”
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The Bruins are short on prospects at every position. So on Friday night at The Sphere, they will draft the teenager with the highest NHL upside, regardless of whether he’s a forward or defenseman.
“We’re going to try to find the best player we possibly can,” Sweeney said. “There’s always an eye toward positional needs if it presents. But it’s a dangerous prospect, going into the draft thinking you’re just going to target a particular position. It’s ill-fated at times. You can make some mistakes.”
The Bruins can take a first-round swing because they had the cap space to incorporate, following 25 percent salary retention, the four years and $3 million annually on Joonas Korpisalo’s contract. Cap-strapped teams like the Tampa Bay Lightning did not.
This offseason, unlike last, an empty ledger is Sweeney’s primary team-building tool. It already got him a first-round selection.
More is coming.
Come July 1, Sweeney will have approximately $23 million to spend. Part of that cash hoard is due to the likelihood that Jake DeBrusk has played his 465th and final game as a Bruin. The team will be worse off without the all-around wing. But the Bruins have a price in mind for the 27-year-old they are unwilling to exceed.
“I suspect that Jake will head to UFA and test the market,” Sweeney said. “I remain consistent that we’ve been in negotiations with Jake. Haven’t had any productive talks in quite some time. But at the end of the day, it’s his prerogative to see what July 1 brings for him.”
Meanwhile, Sweeney met on Wednesday with Allain Roy, Danton Heinen’s agent. The Bruins would like to re-sign the versatile wing. Heinen played for the $775,000 league minimum in 2023-24. No such bargain is coming for the Bruins again.
If the Bruins extend Heinen, Sweeney will still have enough left, if he wants, to do a fellow GM a favor. The Buffalo Sabres, for example, would be happy if the Bruins found room for Jeff Skinner and the three seasons remaining on his eight-year, $72 million contract. The price would not be high.
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But Sweeney’s more likely approach will be to do his business at the draft — picking in the first, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds — and prepare his checkbook for Monday. The Bruins require reinforcements at center, wing and the left side of the defense. Whether they have the funds to fill all three needs remains to be seen.
Part of Sweeney’s summer funds are budgeted for Jeremy Swayman. The future No. 1 goalie will become restricted on July 1. Talks are ongoing. If they do not gain traction, it’s possible Swayman will file for arbitration for a second straight year. Sweeney would prefer to arrive at an organic agreement. Swayman likely feels the same way following last year’s discomfort.
“We’ll hopefully find that in due course,” said Sweeney. “Because that’s the priority.”
Depending on Swayman’s haul, the Bruins may only have enough to sign a center and a defenseman. Elias Lindholm and his three-zone dependability would be a good fit for the Bruins’ system. Evolving-Hockey projects Lindholm as a seven-year, $55.3 million signing.
On defense, Brady Skjei would check multiple boxes as a left-shot five-on-five and penalty-killing defender. He could play with Charlie McAvoy or Brandon Carlo in the top four. This would allow Mason Lohrei to continue to work on his defensive details on the No. 3 pair with Andrew Peeke. Skjei projects to score a seven-year, $52.5 million contract.
Per the nature of free agency, the Bruins would have to overpay for both players.
“If you’re trying to be aggressive, chances are you’re going to bump into an area where you’re uncomfortable,” said Sweeney. “That’s just what happens if you’re going to continue to do that. You can be patient and hope that somebody falls through.”
If the Bruins strike big in such fashion, they would not have enough dough to go after a wing. They have redundancies in that case. Pavel Zacha and Morgan Geekie could shift to the flanks. So could Jesper Boqvist. Perhaps Fabian Lysell can make his NHL breakthrough at right wing.
Sweeney will be active. GMs with money to spend usually are.
(Top photo of Elias Lindholm: Rich Gagnon / Getty Images)
