Panthers will send first-round pick to Bruins to complete Marchand trade originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins did not qualify for the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they did get a “win” Tuesday when the Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes started.

That’s because the Brad Marchand trade between the Bruins and Panthers is now complete, and the outcome is in Boston’s favor.

The B’s dealt Marchand to the Panthers at the NHL trade deadline in March and got a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick in return. That pick had the potential to upgade to a first-rounder.

The conditions of the pick were the Panthers winning at least two rounds in the playoffs and Marchand playing in at least 50 percent of their total postseason games. Marchand appeared in his 13th playoff game for the Panthers in Game 1 of the conference final, and since Florida can only play a maximum of 26 games this spring, that condition of the trade is now satisfied.

The Bruins will now get a first-round pick from the Panthers in 2027 or 2028.

Here are the full parameters of the pick, per PuckPedia:

“Becomes 2027 1st if FLA wins 2 rounds & Marchand plays 50% of playoff games. If pick converts to 2027 1st, and either Florida’s 2027 1st transfers to Chicago (Seth Jones trade) or pick is top 10, then pick becomes 2028 1st.”

If the pick ends up conveying in 2027, the Bruins would have five first-round picks over the next three drafts. It’s been a long time since they owned so much draft capital.

The dilemma for the Bruins now becomes how many of these early-round picks will they keep. Should they package some of them and try to trade for an established star to accelerate their re-tool? Or does it make more sense to draft the best players available and restock a prospect pool that ranks among the league’s worst?

There are pros and cons to both approaches. The right path probably lies somewhere in the middle.

But the good news for the Bruins is they have options on how to right the ship. Now it’s up to general manager Don Sweeney to make the correct moves.

The Vegas Golden Knights have signed forward Tuomas Uronen to a three-year, entry-level contract.

The 20-year-old was selected in the sixth round (192nd overall) of the 2023 NHL Entry Draft by the Golden Knights. Playing in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs, Uronen scored 38 goals and 90 points in 63 games, finishing second in goals and tied for first in points on his team. 

The 2024-25 season was a breakout campaign for the Kerava, FIN native, winning a silver medal with Finland at the World Juniors. He scored two goals and three points in seven games, but his two goals were vital to Finland's success.

"Tuomas Uronen's game is built around his hockey sense and sneaky-good skill level. He anticipates the play in advance, takes intelligent routes both with and without the puck and manages the puck well during in-zone play. He's inside-driven, never cycling the puck needlessly and has a knack for playmaking from below the goal line especially." -EliteProspects 2023 NHL Draft Guide.

Listed at 6'0, 192 lbs, Uronen can play both up the middle as a center or on the wing. His shot has improved since the draft, and it's become increasingly capable of beating goaltenders when given time and space. 

The right-handed shooter will likely start the season with the Henderson Silver Knights in the AHL next season, joining a young crop of players highlighted by Trevor Connelly, Jackson Hallum, Matyas Sapovaliv, Braeden Bowman, Kai Uchacz and Jakub Brabenec.  

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Golden Knights Sign A Pair Of Forwards To Entry-Level ContractsThe Vegas Golden Knights have signed forwards Braeden Bowman and Kai Uchacz to entry-level contracts.

Golden Knights Sign Trevor Connelly To Entry-Level ContractThe Vegas Golden Knights have signed top prospect Trevor Connelly to a three-year, entry-level contract.

Since the PWHL announced its expansion rules, social media has been taken over by fans of the original six markets who are shocked by how favourable the rules are to the new franchises. In a nutshell, each of the original six franchises can only protect three players. They can add a fourth player once they’ve lost two to expansion teams.

Now, I know this wouldn’t happen in the NHL as any expansion team gets to pick its lineup from the league’s other 32 teams, but just for discussion’s sake, if Montreal Canadiens GM Kent Hughes had to do the exercise Daniele Sauvageau will soon undertake for the Montreal Victoire, who would he pick?

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It stands to reason that Hughes would elect to protect his captain, Nick Suzuki, but after that, it gets complicated. Cole Caufield has proven to be a perfect complement for the captain, but will Ivan Demidov eventually perform better than Caufield? Would he protect a projection rather than a player who has shown he can already perform in the NHL? What we’ve seen from Demidov so far has been impressive, and he instantly became a fan favourite.

Of course, protecting both would be possible, but then he would expose both Lane Hutson and Juraj Slafkovsky. I don’t see a scenario where Hughes would be willing to let Hutson go. So, if he were faced with these tough decisions, I think he would likely protect Suzuki, Demidov, and Hutson. This means he would probably lose Caufield and Slafkovsky before being able to protect a fourth player, which would probably be Kaiden Guhle. At least Jacob Fowler wouldn’t have to be protected since he’s in Laval.

That would set the rebuild back years. The PWHL fans' outcry over the last 24 hours is perfectly understandable. Sauvageau has built a good team even though it has been unable to move past the first round of the playoffs so far. However, only being able to protect three of Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Anne-Renee Desbiens, Erin Ambrose, and Cayla Barnes is pure torture. The Victoire also has Jennifer Gardiner, the player who won the accuracy skill competition at the last Canadiens’ skill competition, smashing the four targets faster than anyone else, including Habs players.

The next time there’s an expansion draft in the NHL, whatever the protection list parameters are, remember it could be much worse.

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