When the Boston Bruins had a fire sale back in March of 2025 at the NHL trade deadline, little did many people see coming what was about to happen.
General manager Don Sweeney ended up trading some key members of the franchise that had been there for a while. Captain Brad Marchand and forward Charlie Coyle were dealt, as was defenseman Brandon Carlo. That last deal of Carlo's is the one that is turning into a fleecing.
The Bruins sent Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs for prospect Fraser Minten, the Maple Leafs 2026 first-round draft pick, Top 5 protected, and a fourth-round pick in last June's Entry Draft. Little did anyone know at the time of the deal what was about to happen in the 2025-26 season.
Boston was well ahead in their retool and were a surprise to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Meanwhile, Toronto went in the other direction and missed the playoffs. They tried as best they could to tank at the end of the regular-season to have the ping pong balls fall their way in the Draft Lottery.
Bruins don't get NHL Draft Lottery luck
After finishing tied for last place in the Eastern Conference last season, the Bruins fell as low as they could in the NHL Draft Lottery to No. 7. The night of the draft, they had some draft luck with James Hagens falling all the way down to them, and it chose Sweeney and his staff a no-brainer.
Tuesday night in the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery, the Bruins again got no luck after the Maple Leafs won the NHL Draft Lottery. Now, the first-round pick next season for the Leafs likely goes to the Philadelphia Flyers, and Boston will likely get Toronto's first-round pick in 2028, which is unprotected. By then, who knows where it will fall. Going into the draft, Toronto had an 8.5% chance of winning the draft. They defied the odds.
— NHL (@NHL) May 5, 2026
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