Looking to address their need for a right-shot defenseman was not going to be easy for the Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney in free agency. The market was dried up, and it would have to be addressed through a trade.
Boston did make a minor move on the backend, bringing back Connor Clifton in free agency to put on a third pairing on defense. However, there was still a need for a top-four behind Charlie McAvoy on that side. Darnell Nurse was someone in whom the Bruins had interest through a trade, but nothing could have been worked out, and he went to the San Jose Sharks after expanding his trade list.
With the other realistic options few and far between, the Bruins ended up appearing to address the need in a trade with the New York Rangers for Will Borgen.
Bruins acquire defenseman Will Borgen from the Rangers
This is a low-risk, high-reward move by Sweeney. Borgen was selected in the fourth round of the 2015 Entry Draft by the Buffalo Sabres, but was plucked by the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 Expansion Draft. He was traded to the New York Rangers in 2024 and has spent the last two seasons in the Big Apple.
This past season, he played in 75 games for the Rangers with five goals and 15 points and averaged just over 18 minutes a night. He played in 51 games in 2024-25 with four goals and 13 points. He did play a full 82-game seasons in 2022-23 and 2023-24 with the Kraken.
Borgen will be entering the second year of a five-year contract that carries an AAV of $4.1 million. At 29 years old, he fits what Boston is looking for in a player who has team control, similar to JJ Peterka, whom they acquired last week from the Utah Mammoth.
The return from Boston is an interesting one. According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, the Bruins are sending the Rangers a 2027 second-round pick and a conditional 2028 third-round pick. The condition? The Rangers get the Bruins ' second-round pick in the 2028 Draft if they make the conference final in the next two years, and Borgen played in 50% of Boston's games. I think that pick is going to be safe.
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