Last April the Boston Bruins acquired a depth defenseman from the Ottawa Senators for a mid-round pick, and it turned out to be a pretty good move. Mike Reilly ended up signing a three-year contract extension and now is a regular on the Bruins blueline. They’ll try it again, this time acquiring Josh Brown and a conditional 2022 seventh-round draft pick from the Senators in exchange for Zach Senyshyn and a 2022 fifth-round pick. If Senyshyn plays five NHL games before the end of the 2021-22 season, the Bruins will receive a 2022 sixth-round pick instead.
Brown, 28, brings a much different package to the ice than Reilly. This time it’s a 6’5″ 220-lbs defenseman that is an absolute bulldozer on the ice, hitting anything that moves whenever he gets the chance. What kind of role he’ll play on Boston isn’t clear, though it will be certainly bigger than what Senyshyn has done to this point.
One of the infamous three consecutive first-round picks from 2015, the 24-year-old has played just 14 games to this point in his career. That’s fewer than every other player drafted in that round, something that certainly doesn’t bode well for his future even in a new organization. He’ll turn 25 later this month and likely get a chance to show what he can do with the Senators, but he might not be there very long.
Senyshyn is one of the players who will qualify for Group VI unrestricted free agency this summer, meaning the Senators would need to reach a contract with him in the next few months, or else he’d go to the open market.
Senyshyn is a bust yet we somehow still fleeced them
Boston needs to break this weird fever they have for tall dudes who don’t play hockey particularly well. Every year a new one comes aboard, accomplishes little, and leaves just as fast.
Getting a used skate bag for Senyshyn would’ve been a steal, at this point. He’s a fifth year pro already, and this is the first season he’s been better than a third-liner in Providence.
Knowing Sweeney’s track record in drafting players, he should just trade every draft pick every year for someone.
Bruins got bigger Brown will not hurt this team going forward
Agreed Bucky