Boon for B’s by landing Caps’ Orlov, Hathaway
BOSTON — The NHL’s best team just got bigger and tougher.
Already on their way to one of the best sea- sons in hockey history, the Bruins acquired defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from the Capitals on Thursday in exchange for forward Craig Smith and three draft choices. It’s the latest big acqui- sition by an Eastern Conference contender as the league approaches the March 3 trade deadline.
“Let’s hope we stay healthy and try to take a run, play our best hockey at the right time,” Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a call with reporters. “It’s going to be a hard path. It’s a hard path to get in. It’s even harder once you are in.”
Boston sent a 2023 firstround pick, a 2024 secondrounder, a 2025 thirdrounder and Smith to Washington. The Capitals retained half of Orlov’s salary and Minnesota will pay 25 percent; the Wild will receive a 2023 fifth-rounder for helping Boston stay under the cap.
Sweeney said Orlov and Garnet were arranging travel so they can join the Bruins on their fourgame trip, which began Thursday night against Seattle. They will join the team with the NHL’s best record after leaving one that won it all in 2018 but hasn’t gotten out of the first round since and is struggling to get into postseason position this season.
With a 43-8-5 record and 91 points heading into the Kraken game — a pace that would surpass the 1976-77 Canadiens’ all-time record of 132 points — the Bruins have shown few weaknesses. But the memories of recent playoff disappointments left Sweeney worried about depth, especially on defense, heading into what he hopes will be a long postseason run.
The Capitals, who later Thursday fell to the Ducks 4-2 for their sixth consecutive loss, are selling at the trade deadline for the first time since Alex Ovechkin’s rookie year more than a decade and a half ago.
The Bruins have topped 100 points for four straight non-pandemic seasons but have made just one long playoff run, losing to the Blues in the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.
Minnesota gets a draft pick for helping facilitate a trade for the second time in less than a week. The Wild got a 2025 fourth-round pick from Toronto for retaining salary in the deal that sent Ryan O’Reilly and ex-Bruins forward Noel Acciari from St. Louis to the Maple Leafs.