Wednesday night marked Day 1 of the 2023 NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, but the Bruins might as well have spent the night across the street at Tootsies.
Not only was Boston without a first-round pick (traded to Washington at the 2023 deadline), but Wednesday night was the first time since 2007 that there were no trades during the draft's opening round.
As Day 2 gets set to begin, Don Sweeney and the Bruins front office will get back to work -- eventually. The B's also are without a second-round selection after sending that pick to Anaheim last year as part of the Hampus Lindholm trade.
It's an early start for the rest of the league with the Ducks set to kick off the festivities at 11 a.m. ET. Thursday will be a long day, with Rounds 2 through 7 unfolding in Music City.
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Here are the picks Boston currently owns heading into Day 2.
Round 3 (No. 92 overall)
Round 4 (No. 124)
Round 6 (No. 188)
Round 7 (No. 214)
Round 7 (No. 220)
It's no secret that Sweeney and the Bruins are in a bit of a pickle this summer. They went for it last campaign with the best regular-season team in hockey, and that obviously didn't work out the way they hoped. In the process, Boston maxed out its cap situation (with overages for Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci dues this season), leaving it tight against the cap already.
That might signal the Bruins aren't done dealing. Boston traded Taylor Hall and the rights to Nick Foligno earlier this week in a move that cleared a good chunk of cap space and it could do the same Thursday to make even more room while potentially recouping draft capital.
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One other thing to keep in mind: Not only were the Bruins without a first- and second-round pick this year, but they also don't have a pick in the first three rounds next season. So it wouldn't be shocking to see the Bruins do some wheeling and dealing with an eye on next year's draft, too.
All told, Thursday figures to be a busy day for the Black and Gold after a quiet start to the draft.
Featured image via Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports Images