The Boston Bruins already received plenty of help from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the last 12 months. The Brandon Carlo trade could go down as one of the worst for Toronto, as they gave Boston Fraser Minten and this year's first-round pick for the declining defenseman. With the Maple Leafs now in a tie for last place in the Atlantic Division, they could easily gift the Bruins a great player in the draft.
One caveat of the trade is that the first-round pick is top-five protected. If the Maple Leafs fall far enough to get a top-five pick or win the lottery, they'll keep the pick and avoid a disaster. However, some punishments levied by the NHL against the Ottawa Senators could give the Bruins even more good fortune and would be music to the ears of the Toronto-hater section of Boston's fanbase.
The NHL forced the Senators to relinquish one of their 2024, 2025, or 2026 first-round picks for their role in the Evgenii Dadonov trade drama in 2021. Ottawa decided to push it to 2026, but sitting in a tie with the Maple Leafs for last in the Atlantic could have them regretting that decision.
The good fortune may not come to fruition, considering the Senators have back-to-back blowout wins against the Vegas Golden Knights and Colorado Avalanche. There is an excellent chance that they'll finish ahead of the Maple Leafs in the standings and pick later in the draft, but if, for some reason, they don't, it could have massive implications for the Bruins.
Bruins could get help from unlikely friends: Senators, Maple Leafs
Consider a scenario where the Senators secure the fifth-overall pick, and the Maple Leafs get the sixth. Technically, Toronto falls outside of their top-five protected designation, but the Senators would relinquish their pick, giving the Leafs a top-five player at the sixth pick. Of course, Boston would still have Toronto's pick in that scenario.
If the Senators don't finish behind the Leafs, their relinquishing the pick will still benefit the Bruins. If the standings stay as they are, Boston would likely have their own pick somewhere in the late teens of the first round, barring a deep playoff run. Ottawa would relinquish a pick in the early teens portion of the first round, giving Boston a little bit better draft selection.
The best-case scenario would be the five-six disaster for the Senators and Maple Leafs. However, with Toronto spiraling and Ottawa surging, the biggest concern for Boston could be whether the Leafs fall into the top five and make all this speculation irrelevant.