When the Boston Bruins struck a pre-trade deadline deal with the Minnesota Wild, it was a move that reunited general manager Don Sweeney with a familiar face. Boston moved on from rugged forward Justin Brazeau the night before the trade deadline for forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko.
Yes, that's right, Lauko was returning to the Bruins after he was shipped to Minnesota at the deadline in March of 2024, which landed the Black and Gold forward Pat Maroon. Lauko was drafted in the third round of the 2018 Entry Draft by Sweeney, 77th overall. After the trade last season, he had two goals and five points for the Black and Gold, which finished tied for last place in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Despite coming back to Boston, it was unlikely that he was going to re-sign. Instead, he signed a three-year deal with HC Dynamo Pardubice in Czechia. In 34 games this season, he had 10 goals and 12 assists, but he helped them win the championship. He is likely winning fans over there as he did in Boston.
Former Bruins goalie becoming No. 1 Flyers netminder?
One of the more underrated moves last offseason was the Flyers' grabbing former Bruins goalie Dan Vladar from the Calgary Flames. He won the job in Philadelphia and was a reason why they made the postseason, going 29-14-7 with a 2.42 goals against average and a .906 save percentage. In the playoffs, he went 4-6 with a 2.18 GAA and a .922 SV%. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman believes the Flyers have found their No. 1 goalie.
" Philly seems to have found a number one goalie, those are hard to find; I saw some people saying they were worried about what this could look like...it doesn't sound like it's gonna be anything that can't be handled,'' said Friedman.
Hurricanes and Canadiens series shifts to Montreal
The Carolina Hurricanes and Montreal Canadiens have split the first two games of their Eastern Conference series. Montreal won Game 1, 6-2, before Carolina bounced-back to win Game 2 in overtime, 3-2.
After being the best player for the Hurricanes in their series sweeps of the Ottawa Senators and Flyers, Taylor Hall has struggled against Montreal. He has yet to find his way onto the scoresheet and has a plus/minus of minus-3. He has also landed just two shots on the net in two games.
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