Panthers Deal First-Round Pick to Bruins to Complete Forward Trade

Panthers to Send First-Round Pick to Bruins to Finalize Marchand Trade

The Boston Bruins may have missed out on the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but they received a boost on Tuesday when the Eastern Conference Final between the Florida Panthers and Carolina Hurricanes began. The completion of the Brad Marchand trade with the Panthers turned out to be a positive development for Boston.

In March, the Bruins traded Marchand to the Panthers at the NHL trade deadline in exchange for a conditional 2027 second-round draft pick, which had the potential to be upgraded to a first-round pick based on certain conditions.

For the pick to become a first-rounder, the Panthers needed to win at least two rounds in the playoffs, and Marchand had to play in at least 50% of their postseason games. With Marchand appearing in his 13th playoff game for the Panthers during Game 1 of the conference final, and with Florida potentially playing a maximum of 26 games this spring, that condition has now been met.

As a result, the Bruins will receive a first-round pick from the Panthers, which will either be in 2027 or 2028.

Here are the full details of the pick’s conditions, according to PuckPedia:

“The pick becomes a 2027 1st if Florida wins 2 rounds and Marchand plays 50% of their playoff games. If it converts to a 2027 1st, and either Florida’s 2027 1st goes to Chicago (via the Seth Jones trade) or if the pick is a top-10 selection, then it becomes a 2028 1st.”

If the pick turns out to be a 2027 first-rounder, the Bruins will have five first-round picks over the next three drafts, giving them a significant amount of draft capital—a rarity for them in recent years.

Now, the big question for the Bruins is how to approach these early-round picks. Should they keep all of them, or package some to trade for an established star to speed up their re-tooling process? Alternatively, they could focus on drafting the best talent available to rebuild a prospect pool that’s currently one of the weakest in the league.

Both options have their advantages and drawbacks, but the key is finding a balanced approach. With general manager Don Sweeney, who was granted a two-year contract extension on Tuesday, now in charge of making these decisions, it will be crucial for him to make the right moves moving forward.