The Boston Bruins will not be very active in the early rounds of the next few NHL drafts.
The B's made a splash ahead of the March 3 trade deadline to acquire defenseman Dmitry Orlov and right wing Garnet Hathaway from the Washington Capitals on Thursday in exchange for a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, a 2024 third-round pick and right wing Craig Smith. Boston also sent the Minnesota Wild a 2023 fifth-round pick for retaining 25 percent of Orlov's salary.
For the second consecutive trade deadline, the Bruins dealt multiple draft picks to acquire a defenseman. They added Hampus Lindholm from the Anaheim Ducks last year, and it has been a home run deal for Boston thus far.
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How Bruins' trade for Orlov, Hathaway significantly improves their roster
These moves, and others, have depleted the Bruins' collection of draft picks in the coming years. They have now traded away four of their last six first-rounders. They won't have a second-round selection until 2026. The Bruins haven't picked in both the first and second rounds of the same draft since 2017. Unless they acquire some more picks, that streak will extend until at least 2026.
The Bruins don't have one of the deepest or most talented prospect pools in the league. Far from it, actually. The Athletic ranked every team's prospect pool in January and Boston was 30th out of 32 teams. Not having all of these early draft picks will only make that situation worse.
But that's the price the Bruins are willing to pay to be among the top Stanley Cup contenders.
Boston Bruins
"We’re in it to try and win, and you have to qualify (for the playoffs) and go from there," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said on a Zoom call with reporters after the trade.
Here's an updated look at the Bruins' picks over the next four drafts. The extra seventh-round selection in 2023 is from the Los Angeles Kings.