Expansion Draft Preview: Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are one of those teams who is inevitably going to lose a quality young player to Seattle in the upcoming Expansion Draft.
They have three forwards with no-movement clauses, three defenders who are no-brainers to protect, and, as a result, there are some players they simply won’t be able to fit under their protection scheme.
Eligible Forwards
@David Krejci (UFA), @Patrice Bergeron (NMC), @David Pastrnak, @Brad Marchand (NMC), @Charlie Coyle (NMC), @Taylor Hall (UFA), @Jake DeBrusk, @Craig Smith, @Ondrej Kase, @Nick Ritchie, @Chris Wagner, @Sean Kuraly, @Trent Frederic, @Curtis Lazar, @Cameron Hughes, @Joona Koppanen, @Karson Kuhlman, @Zach Senyshyn
Eligible Defencemen
@CHarlie McAvoy, @Matt Grzelcyk, @Brandon Carlo, @John Moore, @Mike Reilly (UFA), @Connor Clifton, @Jeremy Lauzon, @Jakub Zboril
Eligible Goaltenders
@Tuukka Rask (UFA), @Jaroslav Halak (UFA), @Daniel Vladar, Callum Booth
Exempt Players
Oskar Steen, Matt Filipe, Jack Studnicka, Jakub Lauko, Curtis Hall, Jesper Froden, Urho Vaakanainen, Nick Wolff, Jeremy Swayman, Kyle Keyser
What should they do?
In terms of forwards, Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and Charlie Coyle have no-movement clauses and will automatically be protected. David Pastrnak is another obvious one to protect, so that leaves Boston with four more forward spots.
Jake DeBrusk had a down year, scoring just 14 points, but it would be a shock to see the Bruins expose a former 27-goal scorer. After scoring 32 points on a value contract, Craig Smith also seems like an obvious choice for the Bruins to protect.
That leaves them with one spot to choose between Ondrej Kase and Trent Frederic. Kase has struggled with injury since coming over from Anaheim and played in just three games in 2021. Frederic, a former first-round pick, has scored just four goals over 59 career NHL games.
Ultimately, this decision probably doesn’t matter all too much as Seattle’s eyes will be on the young defencemen that Boston leaves unprotected.
Charlie McAvoy, Matt Grzelcyk, and Brandon Carlo, the team’s top three defenders, will be protected, meaning Jeremy Lauzon and Connor Clifton will be open for the Kraken to select. They’re both in their mid-20s and averaged around 18 minutes of ice time per game in 2018. I would suspect that Lauzon, the younger of the two, is the one Seattle ends up taking.