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A weird draft pick conundrum for Maple Leafs vs. Bruins game tonight originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Boston Bruins obviously want to keep winning right now to improve their playoff chances in the Eastern Conference.
But when the Bruins take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, there's an odd draft pick conundrum hanging over the whole matchup.
A year ago, the Leafs traded Fraser Minten and their 2026 first-round pick to the Bruins for Brandon Carlo. The key caveat with that pick: It's top-five protected. If in the draft lottery it ends up in any of the top-five spots, the Leafs keep it. If it's pick No. 6 or beyond, Boston gets it.
The Maple Leafs enter the matchup with Boston holding the sixth worst points percentage in the NHL.
So viewed just through the draft pick lens:
- The Maple Leafs want to lose to have a better chance of ending up in the top-five selections and keeping their pick.
- The Bruins want the Leafs to win so the pick has a worse chance of ending up in the top-five so the pick conveys to Boston.
MORE: Is a Connor McDavid-Auston Matthews trade feasible?
Obviously, those draft pick desires are antithetical to what all the players on the ice will want to happen. Toronto's players will be playing to win, and so will the Bruins' players.
Boston can't afford to slip up in a competitive Eastern Conference playoff picture, anyway.
But in an alternative universe, one where the Bruins were slightly more affirmed in whatever standings spot they were in, this game could become quite silly. The players won't let that happen, but the fanbases may have other outcomes on their minds.
More NHL news:
- Could the Maple Leafs and Auston Matthews be done?
- Unheralded winger set new NHL skating speed record
- Connor McDavid calls out a 'pillow fight' in the NHL
- Just a bit of doubt about Alex Ovechkin's future
- Evgeni Malkin still facing a bit of tension
- The $25 million implication of Maple Leafs' Bobby McMann trade
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