Bruins make another minor trade

The trade deadline as we know it may have passed a week ago, but Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made another move Thursday, this time with a trade with the Predators with a focus down in the minor-league ranks.

In what was a two-for-one swap, the Bruins have sent forwards Dalton Bancroft and Massimo Rizzo to the Preds in exchange for forward Navrin Mutter.

The Bruins' decision to move on from Bancroft comes less than a year after the club signed him as a college free agent out of Cornell. In 39 total games with AHL Providence, the 6-foot-2 Bancroft posted two goals and three points.

Rizzo, meanwhile, is getting shipped out less than a week after being acquired from the Flyers. The 24-year-old, who spent his 2025-26 campaign in the ECHL prior to joining the Bruins, made just one appearance for the P-Bruins.

As for what's coming in, the London, Ont. native Mutter is certainly considered one of the tougher customers in the AHL, and comes to the organization having posted one assist in 27 games for AHL Milwaukee this season.

Overall, the 6-foot-3, 213-pound Mutter has posted four goals and 20 points, along with 299 minutes in penalties, in 149 AHL games since 2021. 

This move may be about freeing up a contract slot more than anything else for the Bruins. The Bruins have always been players in the college free agent market, and trading out two players for one this time of year would lead you to believe that the Bruins could and should jump into that market once again.

The Bruins are also officially on James Hagens Watch with Boston College's season on the ropes, and this could be just another move preparing for the top prospect's eventual and inevitable jump to the pros with an entry-level signing.