For a while, the Bruins’ connection to the Maple Leafs’ 2026 first-round pick was one of those what-if threads worth tugging on. The whole thing is settled now: Toronto won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery, kept the pick, and used it on Gavin McKenna.
But the alternate version is hard to ignore.
If the Maple Leafs had re-signed Mitch Marner, they could have made the playoffs this past season. That alone would have sent Toronto’s 2026 first-rounder to Boston. It wouldn’t have been a premium lottery prize, but it still could have landed in the middle of the opening round and given the Bruins another asset to work with in a trade.
There was another path, too. Toronto might simply have lost the lottery.
If a couple of teams behind the Leafs had jumped up, Boston would have ended up with the sixth- or seventh-overall pick instead. Even one team moving ahead of Toronto would have pushed the Leafs out of the top five and given the Bruins a shot at a high-end blueliner such as Keaton Verhoeff or Chase Reid.
That’s where the conversation gets really interesting. A pick in that range could have opened the door to bigger swings for Don Sweeney.
Maybe it would have been enough to get talks going with the Detroit Red Wings on Dylan Larkin. Maybe it could have helped Boston land Bowen Byram.
Maybe it could have brought in another center to skate with David Pastrnak and JJ Peterka, assuming the Peterka deal still happened.
Of course, none of it came to pass. The Bruins didn’t get the Leafs’ pick, and the outcome they were left with was the one nobody in Boston wanted. The hockey gods, as the saying goes, did not exactly smile on them.
There is still a sliver of hope that the story isn’t completely finished. If Toronto stumbles next season and drops into another top-ten slot, Boston could still end up with the pick it once seemed positioned to receive.
For now, though, it’s all speculation - a look at the road not taken and the possibilities that came with it.
In Other News...
Bruins Front Office Shakeup Just Sent A Bigger Message
The Bruins offseason has already started to take shape on more than one front, with the club lining up its 2026-27 schedule and giving fans an early look at the opening stretch. Boston will begin at home against the New York Rangers on September 29, then head out for a quick road swing through Winnipeg and Minnesota, a compact start that should tell plenty about how the roster is expected to look when the season arrives.
Just as notable, the organization is also making changes upstairs, the kind that usually says as much about direction as any lineup tweak. Add in Matej Blumels decision to head back to Czechia on a four-year deal with HC Sparta Praha after four seasons in North America, and it is clear this is a Bruins offseason with more moving parts than usual, even before the bigger questions around the roster and front office fully settle in. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Just Got A Concerning Sign About This Offseason
Bostons summer has had the look of a team trying to patch holes while staying in the hunt, with the Bruins adding JJ Peterka, Will Borgen and Connor Clifton while moving on from Viktor Arvidsson and Joonas Korpisalo. Even with those changes, the early read on the roster is that Boston has not done enough to clearly separate itself in a crowded Atlantic Division, especially after a failed swing at a major defense upgrade left the blue line picture still unsettled.
The bigger concern is what the offseason still does not answer. A recent ranking of the leagues offseason improvements placed the Bruins 17th, a reminder that the work done so far may not be enough if the team is serious about pushing back into contention. Boston still looks like it could use more help at right-shot defense and down the middle, and unless those gaps are filled, the Bruins may enter the season with more questions than the moves have solved. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Bring Back Connor Clifton And Fans Know This Debate Too Well
Connor Clifton is back in Boston on a two-year deal, a familiar kind of move for a Bruins blue line that has long leaned on players the staff already knows. Cliftons first run with the club gave him a reputation as a depth defenseman who could handle playoff minutes, and his history here still matters because Boston has seen him in bigger moments than the average bottom-pairing option.
The question, of course, is whether this is the kind of familiarity that actually moves the needle or just another safe bet from a front office that has often preferred the known quantity. Cliftons path through Buffalo and Pittsburgh only sharpened that debate, and his return leaves the Bruins once again weighing experience against the possibility of a younger, higher-upside answer on the back end. [Read more 🡒]