The Boston Bruins are not waiting for the last day to prepare for the stretch.
The best team in the NHL acquired a defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward The Capitals’ Garnet Hathaway sent forward Craig Smith on Thursday along with a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick.
To make the paycheck work, the Minnesota Wild entered the deal, earning a fifth-round pick to keep some of Orlov’s paycheck.
In short, this is another “rich get richer” deal in the increasingly terrifying Atlantic Division bracket, as it came shortly after the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Ryan O’Reilly. Let’s dive into the details of the trade marked by the addition of Orlov, the underrated defender.
Meanwhile, the Capitals have finally added some details for an expiring blueliner.
Again, the main takeaway here is Orlov, the 31-year-old quarterback that the Bruins landed. better than many people probably think. This seems to be the theme of the responses to this move: if the asking price is so high for possibly overpriced defender Vladislav Gavrikov, why not look for Orlov instead?
While Orlov is respectable in his own end, he brings an interesting wrinkle, potentially giving the Bruins an extra dynamic element.
The Bruins already had the best defense in the NHL. Now they’re adding someone who’s already played big minutes but can now feast on slightly (or much) easier tasks. If injuries happen, Boston is unusually well suited to deal with losses.
Speaking of underestimation, Hathaway may also do more good than one might think:
The Atlantic Division playoff bracket looks just monstrous. The Bruins could face a relatively formidable first-round threat from the Panthers or Penguins, while the Maple Leafs and Lightning look destined to meet again. Whoever makes it to the Eastern Conference Finals may have survived two slugfests before taking on the Rangers or the Hurricanes. Yes.
Capitals see the writing on the wall? Wild to keep a paycheck in another profession
Technically yes somewhere between 10-20% chance The Capitals could have rectified the situation enough to be the Bruins’ first-round contender.
However, a smart team will take stock, not just make it to the playoffs. The Capitals are approaching this offseason with a lot of defensive questions – they still have seven players with expiring contracts. listed on their main roster on Cap Friendlyand this after trading Orlov – so it makes sense to shed at least one option. This idea becomes even more appropriate if Orlov needs a six year extension.
As of this writing, the Capitals have two first round players (them plus the Bruins’ pick) in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. They are short of third and sixth round players, but overall they are in a well-established draft with a lot of picks. It is likely that they could stock up more.
One would assume that the Capitals would bring back some of these guards, especially in anticipation of RFA Martin Fehervari, who is only 23 years old. However, other veteran blueliners can give a few picks or prospects, including Erik Gustafsson (30), Trevor van Riemsdyk (31) and Nick Jensen (32).
Craig Smith, 33, is in the final year of a $3.1 million deal. While he got lost in the Bruins’ deep team, is it possible that he could help Washington – or maybe even someone else?
The Wild kept $1.275 million from Orlov’s paycheck after withholding $1.875 million to help make a deal with O’Reilly. For their troubles, they added a fifth round pick in 2023 and a fourth round pick in 2025. It’s not the sexiest way to use salary cap space as a weapon, especially for a team with some ambition, but it’s better than wasting it altogether. Time will tell if the Wilds will add a player to help now through a trade or just stick to the hold route.
Source: sports.yahoo.com
