When Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had a fire sale at the trade deadline in 2025, there were some big names moved. Captain Brad Marchand, center Charlie Coyle, and defenseman Brandon Carlo were just a few of the players who found new homes.
Marchand won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers and re-signed in South Florida to finish his career there. Coyle was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and spent the rest of the regular season there and the playoffs. However, he was shipped to the Columbus Blue Jackets last offseason and had found a home there. He re-signed there earlier this month for six more years.
As for Carlo, he struggled to stay healthy with the Maple Leafs for this past season. He hasn't been good since arriving in Toronto, and Leafs fans are ready to move on from him. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen after a front office overhaul. As for Brazeau, that is a trade that is going to be one that sneaks under the radar for a long time.
Bruins Don Sweeney fleecing the Minnesota Wild will be an underrated move for a long time
Even the biggest Sweeney haters have to admit that he made out very well at the trade deadline in March of 2025 with some of the deals made. Yes, the Maple Leafs ' first-round pick is not coming this season after Toronto won the NHL Draft Lottery earlier this month. However, some of the returns, like Fraser Minten, have paid off.
Another one that paid off this past season and potentially down the line is the deal with Minnesota. The night before the trade deadline, Sweeney sent Brazeau to the Wild for Jakub Lauko and Marat Khusnutdinov. Lauko was a Boston fan favorite when he was in the lineup for his grit and hustle. As for Khusnutdinov, he's turning into a key piece of the trade.
Who saw the 2025-26 season Khusnutdinov ended up having? Not many. Re-signed by the Bruins before free agency opening last July, he played in 77 games for first-year coach Marco Sturm and had 15 goals and 18 assists with a plus/minus of plus-12. He averaged 14:30 a night, potted one power play and overtime goal. In the playoffs, he had no points and averaged 15:28 against the Buffalo Sabres.
However, Khusnutdinov might be undersized at 5-foot-11 and 184 pounds, but his speed is a key part of his game, and he got some valuable time with David Pastrnak at different points in the season. At the end of the regular season, he was part of a "Kid Line" that Sturm put together with Minten and top prospect James Hagens. He is a key piece of the lineup next season for the Bruins, but the trade Sweeney pulled off with the Wild might be one of his more underrated ones as GM.
As for Brazeau, he signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer in free agency. Yeah, that was a win for Sweeney.
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