Right before free agency opened in July of 2022, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made what at the time was an under-the-radar trade. Given Sweeney's history, these are the types of deals that end up working out well for the former Bruins defenseman.
Anyway, Sweeney sent center Erik Haula to the New Jersey Devils for center Pavel Zacha. At the time, it was a one-for-one swap that the Devils were hoping would open the door to make a bigger move. As it turned out, that never happened.
Zacha, at the time, was a first-round draft pick that New Jersey had lost patience with in his seven years with the club. In 386 career games for the Devils, he had 69 goals and 110 assists. His career-high for goals in New Jersey was 17 in 2020-21, before he netted 15 a year later. That was his final season before the trade to Boston.
Bruins fleecing Devils for Pavel Zacha continues to be the gift that keeps on giving
At the time, nobody knew how things were going to end up working out. However, Zacha slowly became a staple in the Black and Gold's lineup. In his first two seasons, he scored 21 goals before slipping back to 14 last year. This year, he's two away from a 30-goal season with seven games left, and he needs one point for a new career-high of 60.
Let's not overlook that he is centering the Bruins best line for first-year head coach Marco Sturm between Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson. Heck, Arvidsson recently notched his sixth 20-goal season in his career, and Mittlstadt has been better than some thought. He is closing in on a big payday with his next contract. It would be in Sweeney's best interest to lock him up at some point this summer with a long-term deal.
As for Haula, he spent three seasons with New Jersey and played in 225 games with 41 goals and 57 assists. He is in his first season in 2025-26 with the Nashville Predators, and he has 11 goals and 32 points with a rough plus/minus of minus-17.
There have been some deals that have worked out for Sweeney and the Bruins and some that haven't. This, like the Brandon Carlo trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs last March, continues to be the trade that keeps on giving.