Bruins
A loss to the Devils on Tuesday would lock Boston into the No. 4 spot in the draft order ahead of the lottery.
The Bruins’ ability to secure a top-five pick in the upcoming 2025 NHL Draft might rest in their hands.
With just one game left on their regular-season docket, the Bruins currently hold the fourth-worst record in the NHL at 33-39-9 (.463 points percentage) — and 75 points.
But a win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night could potentially put Boston at risk of moving up to as high as No. 6 on the draft leaderboard — based on how both the Seattle Kraken and Philadelphia Flyers fare over this final week of regular-season play.
Had the Bruins lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday afternoon, they would have been locked into that No. 4 spot in the draft pecking order going into the lottery — guaranteeing that they could fall no further than No. 6 once the lottery takes place.
Now, it will take a loss for the Bruins against the Devils that guarantee that No. 4 designation — which not only puts Boston in a solid position to move up to the No. 1 or No. 2 pick via the lottery, but would also guarantee that the team should be able to select at least one blue-chip center prospect like Anton Frondell, James Hagens, or Caleb Desnoyers with a pick in that No. 4-6 range.
As sour as it would be for the Bruins to close out a miserable 2024-25 campaign with a dud against New Jersey, sticking in that No. 4 spot does put Boston in the best possible position to accelerate their retool by landing a talented prospect in the 2025 NHL Draft.
According to Tankathon, the team with the fourth-worst record in the NHL (currently the Bruins) has these odds in the draft lottery:
1st overall: 9.5 percent
2nd overall: 9.5 percent
3rd overall: 0.3 percent
4th overall: 15.4 percent
5th overall: 44.6 percent
6th overall: 20.8 percent
In other words, a very good chance of remaining in the top-five — and a nearly 20-percent shot shot at moving up to No. 1 or No. 2, where a team could take a potential top-line center in Saginaw’s Michael Misa (62 goals, 134 points in 65 games) or a future franchise defenseman in Matthew Schaefer.
But things do get more interesting if the Bruins manage to either outright win Tuesday’s game against New Jersey, or even earn a point in overtime/shootout.
The Seattle Kraken currently sit in the No. 5 spot with 76 points — and just one more game on their regular-season schedule. A Bruins victory on Tuesday and a Kraken loss against the Kings Tuesday night would flip their spots in the draft order — limiting the Bruins’ chances of securing a top-five pick.
Boston will also need to keep tabs on the Flyers — who, like the Kraken, sit one point ahead of the Bruins with 76 points on the year. But the Flyers do have a longer window to accrue points, as they have two games left on the schedule: one matchup Tuesday against Columbus and another on Thursday against the Sabres.
If Boston and Philly end the season tied in points, the Flyers would also hold the edge over the Bruins in the draft order, given that Boston has more regulation wins than the Flyers.
As such, there stands a scenario where Boston closes out the regular season with the sixth-best odds in the draft lottery — at least if the Bruins win on Tuesday and both the Kraken and the Flyers lose the remainder of their games.
A loss to the Devils would alleviate some of those draft-related headaches for a Bruins team in desperate need of a franchise talent in the upcoming draft.
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