Bruins open to trading 1st-round pick for more immediate help

Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney is willing to sit out the first round of this year's draft if the right deal comes along.

With clear and pressing needs on the left side of the ice at both forward and defense, Sweeney would not be averse to trading the 18th overall pick.

"It’s an effort to try and improve our hockey club," Sweeney said Friday at the NHL scouting combine, per Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald. "We have had a number of selections the last couple of years and we feel that they’ll all materialize into very good players for the Boston Bruins and I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t explore what could improve our hockey club now in the shorter term. I owe it to our players and the organization to continue to do that."

The Bruins have made five first-round picks over the course of the past two drafts, but each of those players has yet to make their regular-season NHL debuts.

Defenseman Charlie McAvoy - selected 14th overall in 2016 - was pressed into playoff action this year and is expected to be in the lineup come October, but whether the other four picks - defenseman Jakub Zboril and forwards Jake DeBrusk, Zach Senyshyn, and Trent Frederic - can contribute next season remains to be seen.

"We have areas that we think internally we can address, or we hope to be able to address with the growth of our own players," Sweeney continued. “(But) I want to look for a player who can help us improve our club. There’s a couple of areas that I think we can and that’s what I’d be willing to do. Impact (at left wing), impact on the back end. To me, I want a player that moves our club further along."

Further along would mean building on a first-round playoff exit and returning to the status of Stanley Cup contenders.

According to Cap Friendly, the Bruins have six selections to make in this year's draft, with no picks in the third and fifth rounds.