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Boston Bruins Trade Dougie Hamilton, Milan Lucic

By Diana Driscoll

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In the article I posted earlier today, NHL Draft: Picks, Trades, Steals, I said to expect the unexpected. Well, I can tell you I didn’t expect this! (So I guess I should have actually expected it? I’m not sure, but I was quite surprised).

What I really didn’t expect was for the Boston Bruins and rookie general manager Don Sweeney to dive right in and be the most active team before 6 p.m. EST rolled around. Within maybe less than an hour, the Bruins traded budding defenseman Dougie Hamilton and veteran (and one of the faces of the Bruins) Milan Lucic.

Let’s start with the Hamilton move:

Seriously? Well, I guess this is the trouble with pending restricted free agents. Apparently Dougie Hamilton and the Bruins were not able to reach a deal on his contract. So, instead of paying up, Boston shipped him off and in return the team got three draft picks in this year’s draft (one 1st round, two 2nd round).

On their website, the Bruins stated:

"Hamilton played for three seasons with Boston from 2012 to 2015, appearing in 178 NHL games, registering 22 goals and 61 assists for 83 points with a combined plus-23 rating.  In 19 postseason games with Boston, Hamilton posted 2-8=10 totals. The 6’5″, 212-pound native of Toronto, ON was drafted by Boston in the first round (9th overall) of the 2011 NHL Entry Draft."

Obviously, the news caused mixed reactions. There is no denying the talent of the 22-year-old defenseman. He is only going to get better as he continues to figure out the NHL landscape. It seems a little premature to trade him, and Don Sweeney will, I’m sure, not hear the end of it if Hamilton becomes a force to be reckoned with. But maybe Hamilton was just asking for too much (long-term deal apparently).

The Bruins aren’t looking to create money problems; they are trying to alleviate them. Yes, I would say this trade is a bit risky—not getting any players in return. It also seems like a missed opportunity for the Bruins. If you’re going to trade and asset like Hamilton why don’t you send him to Arizona in exchange for that third pick?

It could have been see you later Hamilton; welcome to Boston Noah Hanifin.

Sweeney even was quoted stating that Hamilton was a foundational player. He’s right. Now, Hamilton will be a foundational player for the Calgary Flames.

OK, now to Lucic.

This was less of a surprise. His name was in the rumor mill for a few weeks now, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time before he was sent somewhere else. The Bruins sent Lucic to the Los Angeles Kings for goaltender Martin Jones and defenseman Collin Miller, as well as the No. 13 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

At least with this deal the Bruins got some actual bodies—players, not prospects. Yet, I was reported that the Bruins will retain about half of his salary (well that’s a bummer).

OK, Sweeney, I’m a bit dumbfounded. You’ve traded two experienced and well-liked players for well I’m not sure. I mean draft picks are great, of course, especially high up in the draft. But Hamilton and Lucic for those picks, a goaltender (umm, aren’t you already set there) and a defenseman?

Right now, the Bruins don’t look like the winners of this trade, at least to me. I am just hoping that Sweeney has something else up his sleeve and all these picks he has acquired are going to go into getting something or someone big.

The Bruins now have the No. 13, 14, and 15 first-round picks and a couple of second-round picks (they have more later on, but these would  be the ones other teams would want). Are they going to keep all of those picks?

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Something feels a little off. I think there is something bigger brewing and I don’t know if it has to do with Arizona. Time is really ticking on this one, so if the Bruins are going to go for that No. 3 pick, they have to do it quickly.

I said it earlier but I’ll say it again: I hope this is not the Bruins’ endgame. I know Sweeney is new to this whole managing an NHL team thing, but come on! Yes, it is a deep draft and (if the Bruins keep the picks) they will get talented players. But he does realize that there is a full season next year right? Sweeney needs players that will be able to fill the holes he just created.

There is one significant upside to these trades: more cap space. That will help the Bruins get some players locked down this summer and in the coming years.

Overall, it seems Sweeney is trying to make a statement, and I believe he is only half finished.

The night is young and the draft has yet to begin. Things are going to get crazy!

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