3. Trade Down to Acquire More Draft Picks or Prospects
The Boston Bruins best option in the first round of the 2016 NHL Draft might be to trade down with either the 14th overall selection, or the 29th/30th depending on where San Jose finishes. Trading down could land the Bruins an additional pick in the draft, or a prospect, depending on the deal that presents itself.
"“I think there’s a chance for a lot of movement going into the draft, and there’s been a lot of talk about it, so you have to expect that somebody might move into a position that you didn’t necessarily think they were taking that player,” said Sweeney. “But again, the depth up until that point is pretty good, so we feel comfortable.” – Don Sweeney"
Just last year, there were multiple trades in the first round that involved teams trading down for multiple selections.
Toronto traded the 24th overall selection last year to Philadelphia for the 29th overall selection as well as the 61st overall selection. Toronto had already used their fourth overall selection on Mitch Marner and as a result, they had the ability to move down to accumulate more picks.
The 29th overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft, however, wasn’t made by Toronto. The Maple Leafs once again traded down in the draft, this time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, to acquire the 34th overall selection as well as the 68th overall selection.
In short, the Maple Leafs turned the 24th overall selection into the 34th, 61st, and 68th overall selection due to smart trading.
The Bruins would be smart to trade the 29th or 30th overall selection for a second round pick and a low pick, as the more picks they accumulate, the higher chance one of their selections pans out. Scouting isn’t as simple as people would like to believe it is, and good general managers realize that sometimes the best thing that can be done in a draft is dip into as many facets as possible in hope that one spouts oil.
Next: #2. On The Other Hand, High Picks Are Appealing