The Boston Bruins have made some news at the trade deadline. It was announced that forward Justin Brazeau has been traded by the Bruins to the Minnesota Wild. News of the deal emerged on Thursday night and Boston will get Marat Khustnidinov and Jakub Lauko in exchange for the forward.
Boston Bruins Justin Brazeau Traded at the Deadline
Brazeau has only played for the Bruins across his two-year NHL career. The 27-year-old has 10 goals and 10 assists for 20 points in 57 games this season. He has a Corsi for of 52.3 and a relative Corsi of 3.7.
The New Liskeard, Ontario native has 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 76 career games. Brazeau has worked his way up from the ECHL and AHL in stints in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization with the Newfoundland Growlers and the Toronto Marlies. He signed with the AHL Providence Bruins in 2021 and found his way onto the Bruins.
The Bruins forward also had a standout stint with the North Bay Battalion of the OHL before entering the professional ranks. However, he went undrafted out of major junior.
Lauko returns to the Bruins after playing the first two seasons of his career in Boston. He has three goals and three assists for six points in 38 games this season.
What It Means
This seems to be a move rooted in trying to get something for a player they likely wouldn’t have room to re-sign. Brazeau comes with a cheap price tag of $775,000 per season. However, he’s in the last year of his deal and Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney likely wanted to move him.
Brazeau is a hard worker and will be a solid depth addition for his new team. He may not post a lot of goals, but he’s willing to throw his weight around and be physical. Brazeau is a big body at over 6-feet, 6-inches tall and around 227 pounds.
We don’t know what the future holds for the Bruins. However, trading Brazeau allows Sweeney to get some sort of return as Boston tries to chart its next course.
