The NHL Entry Draft is less than a week away, and the next five days could be very interesting when it comes to trades and deals involving draft picks for next weekend.
On Sunday, the Florida Panthers sent right wing Mackie Samoskevich to the Seattle Kraken for the 25th overall pick in the first round on Friday night and a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 Entry Draft from either the Columbus Blue Jackets or Washington Capitals.
Let's be honest, if you're a fan of the Boston Bruins, if the Panthers can get that return for Samoskevich, what could GM Don Sweeney get for either Pavel Zacha or Casey Mittlestadt? Maybe we could find out in the next week or at some point this summer, but this could make things interesting around the Bruins.
Bruins could get a good return for Pavel Zacha or Casey Mittlestadt
Samoskevich is coming off a 2025-26 season where he had 12 goals and 20 assists in 77 regular-season games for a team that missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. If he can fetch a first-round pick in return, what could Zacha and Mittlestadt fetch for a return?
Zacha and Mittlelstadt are players who have been rumored in the trade market going all the way back to last summer. Their names popped at the beginning of the season as the Black and Gold got off to a slow start, but nothing was done. Boston ended up turning things around and making the playoffs.
As for Zacha, despite being floated about in trade rumors, Sweeney trading him would be a surprise. Extending him is a likely option this summer rather than trading him. As for Mittlestadt, he would be an obvious candidate with his $5.75 million AAV, but getting a team to take that might be a tough ask.
Sweeney has to at least gauge the trade market even more after the most recent deal, but that doesn't mean he needs to pull the trigger on a deal. There is a dire need for a center, and Zacha is currently one of the better options. Decisions are looming over the next couple of weeks for Boston.
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