Haggerty: NHL Draft Day Opener Is A Good One For Boston Bruins | BHN+

Let’s start by fully admitting the Boston Bruins still have a metric ton to accomplish when it comes to building their roster for next season.

They still have to land one, if not two, legit defensemen including one that should be a left-shot, top-4 D-man capable of playing big minutes and bringing veteran poise to a young group of defensemen. Call it the “Ryan Suter” role if you will because that’s the kind of guy that would be a perfect fit for the Black and Gold. They still need a right wing that can score goals in a top-9 role, and they need energetic, physical new faces in a fourth line makeover that’s happening on the fly.

That’s quite a shopping list for a team that made it to the second round of the playoffs this spring and was in the Stanley Cup Final just a couple of seasons ago.

The B’s didn’t land Conor Garland or Oliver Ekman-Larsson as they got shipped to Vancouver in exchange for mostly salary cap considerations, and they weren’t in on a number of big-name defensemen that changed NHL addresses. But they locked up Taylor Hall to a tidy, team-friendly $6 million cap hit for the next four seasons in his prime NHL years, and they drafted a game-breaking scorer in 18-year-old Swedish winger Fabian Lysell.

Bruins first round pick Fabian Lysell. That’s exactly the kind of speed/skill package you’re looking for in a first rounder & what Bruins are currently missing in their prospect ranks. Good pick pic.twitter.com/qWv6IkuAeU

— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) July 24, 2021