The first round of the NHL draft takes place Tuesday night beginning at 7 p.m., followed by Rounds 2-7 on Wednesday beginning at 11:30 a.m.
The Bruins don't have a first-round pick after trading it to the Anaheim Ducks in the trade deadline deal that landed them Ondrej Kase, but that doesn't necessarily mean it will be a quiet night for Boston.
The Bruins have seemingly been connected to as many trade rumors as any team, and it wouldn't be surprising if one or more of them wind up being finalized Tuesday night.
The first night of the draft is often a busy one for trades, as anyone who remembers the Bruins' 2015 wheelings and dealings -- when they traded away Milan Lucic and Dougie Hamilton for two first-round picks, two second-round picks, defenseman Colin Miller and goalie Martin Jones -- can attest.
With reports that the Bruins are one of the two favorites to land Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (along with the Canucks), and other reports that they are at least listening on Tuukka Rask, Jake DeBrusk and Brandon Carlo, there is certainly the potential that something comes together Tuesday night if it's going to involve a first-round pick.
Neither the Bruins nor the Canucks -- the only two teams for whom Ekman-Larsson would reportedly waive his no-trade clause -- have a first-round pick this year, so if there's a first-rounder to be included in that potential deal, it may have to be a 2021 pick.
But that could also provide more incentive for either the Bruins or the Canucks to find a way to move into the first round this year -- either to include that pick in the deal if the Coyotes prefer a pick this year (which they might, as they don't have a single pick in the first three rounds this year), or to keep it for themselves and avoid a situation in which they go two years in a row without a first-rounder if they have to trade away next year's.
The Bruins enter this year's draft with a second-round pick (58th overall), third-round pick (89), fifth-round pick (151), sixth-round pick (182), and seventh-round pick (213).
Even if it's not tied to a blockbuster trade, the Bruins could try to move up in the draft simply to add some higher-end prospect talent to their system, something they are currently running low on.
There's also the possibility that the Bruins could trade the negotiating rights for Torey Krug -- likely for a mid-round pick -- ahead of the start of free agency on Friday, although other teams may be reluctant to do so at this point with just a couple days left to negotiate. Or they could always trade for another free agent's negotiating rights if there's someone they want to prioritize.
As with just about everything else, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is going into Tuesday night with an open mind.
"It's certainly difficult," Sweeney said Monday of not having a first-round pick. "Your scouts do a tremendous amount of work and you'd like to reward them. Clearly, the first round is talent-laden. The draft is deep overall. I think if the opportunity presents itself, we're going to have to explore it.
"There has been plenty of talk overall. It hasn't been a heck of a lot of player movement and such, but we're getting down to the final stages so if anything is going to happen, it has to happen [soon], if you're trying to trade back in. There's been some discussions. It's just expensive this time of the year."
Of course, in the end, it could turn out to be a quiet night for the Bruins after all. But there is at least plenty of chatter going in, something Sweeney acknowledged.
"I mean, there's been a tremendous amount of conversation and a lot of it has focused around the financial aspect of each and every team," Sweeney said. "Obviously some teams have acquired some players because they have a lot of flexibility, and some teams are in a very good position in controlling especially early in the draft board, so there's been a lot of jockeying, a lot of conversation.
"I don't necessarily know whether or not anything is moving forward at a rapid pace, but it's not without trying on everybody's behalf to see what teams are looking to do. There's just been a lot of conversation throughout."
