Does every Boston Bruins fan who lived through the Don Sweeney era have an impending sense of doom that he is going to do something this week to get cute with the draft process instead of just taking the best player available at seventh overall?
Some general managers have the leeway to do that thanks to a solid prospect pool or past success, but Sweeney doesn't have that luxury this year. The Bruins just went through one of their worst seasons in decades, and their prospects leave much to be desired. If Sweeney is smart, he'll take a skilled forward at seventh overall and not look back. However, it wouldn't be surprising if he made a move to trade down.
The problem is that if Sweeney does trade down, it won't be for a sure thing. There is a lot of uncertainty in the middle of the first round, and one of the players, chief among them, is Jackson Smith. Smith doesn't solve any of the issues with the Bruins' scoring, but he is a defenseman with some offensive upside.
The Bruins have some interest in improving their defensive depth, despite it being a position of strength. While forwards should be the main priority, Sweeney could attempt to improve that through a trade and free agency, while landing a possible future power-play quarterback with this pick.
Smith has gotten some love in the top ten, but he'll likely end up going in the mid-first round. The concern for Bruins fans should be that Sweeney will like Smith so much that he takes him with the seventh pick, leaving some high-upside forwards on the board while not accruing any assets in a trade-down scenario.
A new wrinkle in the Smith scenario is that he has recently committed to Penn State University for the upcoming season. As we know, college players usually take a couple of years to be an option for the NHL roster, which means he might not be as attractive to Sweeney if he's a work-in-progress instead of someone who can step into the lineup in the next year or two.
The Bruins still seem set on being a win-now team, which could make trading down to get Smith a reality if they can land a valuable roster player in the deal.