When the Boston Bruins were sitting two points out of an Eastern Conference playoff spot last March at the trade deadline, not many people saw the fire sale coming from Bruins general manager Don Sweeney. There was so much wheeling and dealing that it produced a Stanley Cup champion after Brad Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers.
That was one of the eye-opening deals Sweeney swung, but other deals were bigger and provided huge hauls in return. In fact, Sweeney fleeced the Toronto Maple Leafs so badly that it's going to be a deal that might haunt the Black and Gold rivals. Here is a look back at Sweeney's trade deadline mastery last year.
Revisiting Bruins fleecing of Toronto Maple Leafs and Minnesota Wild
The night before the deadline, Sweeney sent forward Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild for forwards Jakub Lauko and Marat Khusnutdinov. Lauko moved on over the summer, but Khusnutdinov has emerged as a key piece of Marco Sturm's lineup this season. He has played in the top six, and he has broken out this year with 13 goals and 14 assists in 55 games.
Now for the main course. Sweeney traded Brandon Carlo to Toronto for prospect Fraser Minten, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. That pick in the 2025 draft was used to select Vashek Blanar. However, the two key pieces of the return are looking better and better by the day for Boston.
Minten has been a huge piece of the success that Boston is having this season. He had solidified a spot in Sturm's lineup with 14 goals and 29 points in 60 games heading into Thursday night's gaem against the Nashville Predators. As for the first-round draft pick in this year's draft, it is top 5 protected this year. If Toronto ends up missing the playoffs and the NHL Draft Lottery falls outside the top 5, then that's a golden pick for Boston.
As for Carlo, Toronto is looking to unload him at the deadline, which is easier said than done. It would make Maple Leafs' fans' deadline if he's moved. It's a trade that backfired for an organization that is begging for a winner, yet can't get over the hump in the postseason. This is a trade that could be talked about for years or even decades to come.