Urho Vaakanainen
Vaakanainen is the Bruins’ best defensive trade chip that teams would be interested in. A left-handed shot, the 22-year-old has a very good upside and would be a good addition to a team rebuilding their defense. He has held his own in the few games he has played in for Boston this season, even picking up his first NHL assist.
The Bruins have some young left-shot blueliners ahead of Vaakanainen in Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zbori, behind Matt Grzelcyk. Sweeney should not be afraid to move on from Vaakanainen in a deal.
Connor Clifton
Clifton, a right-shot blueliner, is relatively cheap playing on the first year of a three-year, $3 million contract. He can both the right and left sides, giving a team some versatility.
Kevan Miller and Jakub Zboirl made the roster out of training camp over Clifton, but he has ended up in the lineup because of injuries. In 69 career games, the Quinnipiac University product has two goals and four assists. He projects now as a bottom pairing defensemen but could be an upgrade for a team looking to go younger.