Don Sweeney and the Boston Bruins made their first trade of the offseason Thursday, completing a two-for-two trade with Mike Grier’s San Jose Sharks.
And for the Bruins, the trade leveraged what was ultimately a disgruntled asset for the club, with the signing rights to prospect Andre Gasseau and the No. 120 overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft traded to the Sharks in exchange for the No. 104 and No. 157 overall picks in next week’s draft.
Ultimately, in its simplest form, this was the Bruins moving up 16 picks with one of their fourth-round selections and getting back into the fifth round of the draft in exchange for a player who was not going to sign with the club this summer and would instead test free agency.
Drafted by the Bruins with a seventh-round selection (No. 213 overall) in 2021, Gasseau had spent the last four seasons at Boston College, with 43 goals and 111 points in 135 games over that run. As a senior (and team captain) in 2025-26, Gasseau posted six goals and 23 points in 23 games, while his best season came with 15 goals and 30 points in 36 games in 2024-25.
While Gasseau’s college resume was enough to interest the Bruins in signing him, the belief was that He did not want to sign in Boston without a clear path to the NHL. It was even rumored that Gasseau wanted to get in an NHL game to close out the 2025-26 season.
The Bruins, obviously, did not view that situation the same. Hell, they made top prospect James Hagens play in AHL games, so there was absolutely no way they were going to let Gasseau skip the line right to the NHL.
Along with moving up 16 spots with one of their fourth-round picks, as previously mentioned, the trade also allowed the Bruins to bridge the gap between their penultimate and final pick of the 2026 NHL Draft. Before this trade, the Bruins were going to be waiting after their pick No. 122 all the way to No. 216.
Now, as noted, the Bruins are back in the fifth round after having previously traded their own fifth-round pick in the 2025 trade that sent Charlie Coyle to Colorado, and will have eight picks in total in next week’s draft.
