Say what you will about the drafts and free agency, and I know you will, but one thing is for certain and that’s that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney sure knows how to deadline deal.

After back-to-back deadline home runs with the 2021 move for Taylor Hall and last year’s trade for Hampus Lindholm, Sweeney has attempted to put his league-best Bruins team over the top of the field chasing ’em with a trade for defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway.

Acquired from Washington and with the Wild playing financial ‘broker’ as the third team involved, Boston’s latest big swing came at the expense of winger Craig Smith and four draft picks, including a 2023 first-round pick and 2025 second-round selection. It’s the kind of trade that an ‘all in’ team makes this time of year, and the B’s certainly fit the bill there.

“We’ve clearly been in the marketplace to gauge what types of players would be available in adding to our current group,” Sweeney said of the trade. “Inevitably, we did have to make a move with regards to opening up some space and Craig’s situation, but I think we were trying to attack in two different areas and both Dmitry and Garnet both bring some attributes that will complement our group. Now I just hope we stay healthy and try and take a run and play our best hockey at the right time. It’s going to be a hard path. It is a hard path to get in and it’s even harder once you take a run.”

But it’s always deeper than that.

• Orlov quickly became ‘BDA’ for Bruins

  

  WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 01: Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals warms up before playing against the Boston Bruins at Capital One Arena on February 01, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

• For about a week, it was Vladislav Gavrikov this and Vladislav Gavrikov that. Rumors also linked the Bruins to the Coyotes’ Jakob Chychrun — like they have for what feels like two years now, to be honest — but it felt like Gavrikov was going to the Black and Gold’s guy this deadline.

  But when the Capitals made Dmitry Orlov available, the Bruins recognized him as the ‘best defenseman available’ for what they needed, and they pounced.

  It really was that simple for the Bruins.

  When the Bruins were linked to Gavrikov, the fit always seemed a bit bizarre from the standpoint of Gavrikov’s status as a left-shot defenseman who … really wasn’t all that much better than what the Bruins already had. At least when you looked at impact vs. price that was going to be paid to the Blue Jackets. As Gavrikov quickly became a defenseman that required a deadline premium price, the Bruins going ‘all in’ on him seemed to make less and less sense. But for Orlov (and more)? You do that every single day of the week.

  Not only does Orlov play bigger than his 5-foot-11 frame, but he’s capable of playing both the left and right side, and has long been a jack-of-all-trades weapon for the Washington blue line. He also has quite the extensive playoff resume (74 career games) and was a huge part of that Capitals team that won the Stanley Cup in 2018.

• Orlov’s fit will be fascinating watch

  

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 10: Dmitry Orlov #9 of the Washington Capitals skates against the Boston Bruins during the first period at TD Garden on January 10, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• With that in mind, I’m dying to know how the Bruins plan on using Orlov.

  I can see the allure of pairing Orlov with Charlie McAvoy on Boston’s top pairing and giving the Bruins a pairing featuring two guys who can dish out some serious open-ice punishment and make plays with the puck on their stick. I can also see the Bruins experimenting with the idea of Orlov using his offensive skills (he had a career-high 12 goals and 35 points last year) to help lead a second pairing with Brandon Carlo as the stay-at-home type. Or the Bruins could even ask Orlov to ‘drive’ the B’s third pairing, whether that’s with Derek Forbort or Connor Clifton.

  “The versatility with Dmitry is he plays both sides [and is] equally adept at it,” Sweeney said. “He’s a very, very good puck mover, looks to get up into the rush, he’s a shot mentality on the offensive blue line, certainly defends with conviction and does have an open ice mindset at times to be able to take away time and space effectively. We just think there is a real good hockey player there that has experience, has won a Stanley Cup, and adds to our group in any one of the areas that we think he can address and who he is going to play with.”

  In essence, the options are seemingly endless. So where do the Bruins go?

  “I have some thoughts in mind,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery said of Orlov’s fit on his defense. “We have eight really good defensemen and we are spoiled right now with an embarrassment of riches.

  “There’s gonna be a rotation back there. I had a conversation with the defense because everybody thinks, ‘How is this going to affect me?’ Well, we got this because of — and you guys have pointed this out in articles I’ve read and things I’ve seen — we’ve had injuries the last several years in the playoffs, right? So we’re going to need everybody.”

  The Bruins have also alluded to some of their defensemen being ‘banged up’ right now, so it could be telling in regards to who is the first one out to get Orlov into the mix.

•  

• You’re gonna love Garnet Hathaway

  

  WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 11: Pat Maroon #14 of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Garnet Hathaway #21 of the Washington Capitals fight during the second period of the game at Capital One Arena on November 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Scott Taetsch/Getty Images)

• Not gonna lie, I’ve loved hearing from people — whether that’s been friends, family, or internet pals — saying that they’re gonna hate cheering for Garnet Hathaway. No, trust me, you’re going to love this guy. Probably after his third or fourth shift of his first game with the Bruins.

  Even Hathaway’s agent, Matt Keator, knows how fans currently feel but will soon feel about his client.

  More Keator: “Basically the comments on Twitter have been, ‘I guess we have to go from hating Garnet Hathaway to loving him.’” #Caps

  — Tarik El-Bashir (@Tarik_ElBashir) February 24, 2023

  Hathaway is that classic ‘love him if he’s on your side’ kind of talent. Now, he’s definitely crossed the line before — locally, he bloodied Jarred Tinordi with a vicious, dirty hit from behind back in 2021 and Hathaway was suspended for spitting on an opponent back in 2019 — but he absolutely isn’t a Matt Cooke-lite type.

  He’s just an in-your-face, under-your-skin kind of energy player. Just ask Charlie McAvoy, who had to deal with Hathaway trying to get in his kitchen for what felt like the entirety of the team’s five-game series with Washington during the 2021 postseason.

  “Garnet is a hard-nosed guy that’s going to be wired the way that we use our bottom-six and try to create some anxiety on the forecheck,” Sweeney said. “He disrupts, he kills penalties, bigger body and frame.”

  The 6-foot-3 Hathaway has also been one of the absolute best fourth-line forwards in hockey, and has been a positive whenever on the ice, as someone who helps dictate pace in the right direction for his team.

• pic.twitter.com/N0fNtPhCGv

  — Garnet Hathaway (@GarnetHathaway) February 25, 2023

• Hathaway also addresses glaring need for B’s

  

  Feb 18, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) skates during the warmups before the game against the Hurricanes during the 2023 Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium. (James Guillory/USA TODAY Sports)

• Were the Bruins a Garnet Hathaway away from winning the 2023 Stanley Cup? That feels like a bit much, I’ll admit, but this is the kind of player they’ve needed in the postseason for years.

  One thing that’s bothered me about recent Bruins teams, especially when the games are at their most important, is that it had felt that the Bruins needed Brad Marchand and/or Charlie McAvoy to set the tone and drag the Bruins into the fight. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with those players doing that. They’re two of the best in the world at their respective positions. Buuuuut, they also can’t be the only guys capable of doing that, because that risks them landing in the box and not being on the ice where they can, you know, best one of the best players in the world at their respective position.

  Hathaway is another hammer in a toolbox that needs more of them. And he’s the heaviest one they could find.

  Since breaking into the league as a full-time NHLer in 2017, only six players have recorded more hits than Hathaway and his 1,170 thumps. Among that group of six, only three are forwards (Milan Lucic, Matt Martin, and Ryan Reaves). The Maine-born Hathaway also ranks fifth in hits per 60 (15.21) among a group of 378 skaters with at least 300 games played since 2017.

  The 31-year-old has also been a notable thorn in the sides of some of the teams that the Bruins could play on their way to a Stanley Cup, and is a necessary heat-seeking missile against active defenses.

  Something I found interesting…
  Hathaway vs. TB: 2-2-4, 27 hits in 11GP
  vs. NYR: 6-4-10, 45 hits in 18GP
  vs. CAR: 2-4-6, 31 hits in 14 GP.
  
  Very solid production for bottom-sixer, physical presence against some teams you may have to go through on path. https://t.co/Pqmbe9Em8l

  — Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) February 24, 2023

  “Overall, I think our group does a really good job of responding to physical challenges and we can play any type of game. We try and play up tempo in all facets of our game and Dmitry and Garnet will add to that and complement and again, just try to fortify for the most part,” Sweeney said. “They’re excited to come and add to our team, to address the physicality or how we’re going to play — it’s up tempo, but it is really trying to play any style. I don’t think there is a player on our team that doesn’t acknowledge that you’re going to go through physical battles and the war of attrition that the playoffs represent. So, it’s just time to go to work.

  “I think when we play any type of game against any type of team, we’re able to react or dictate accordingly.”

  Hathaway certainly helps fortify that belief.

• Are Bruins thinking long term with either player?

  

  Feb 17, 2023; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Washington Capitals defenseman Dmitry Orlov (9), Capitals center Joe Snively (91), and Capitals right wing Garnet Hathaway (21) stand on the ice during practice prior to their Stadium Series game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Carter-Finley Stadium. (Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports)

• One thing that’s worth noting when it comes to Sweeney’s recent deadline dealings is that they’ve rarely been true rentals. The Bruins signed both Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly to extensions in 2021, and they inked Hampus Lindholm to an eight-year extension before he even played a game for the team.

  Is the team cooking something similar up this time around?

  “No, but we will look forward to having that [conversation],” Sweeney said about any potential extensions with either player. “[We need to] get them acclimated. They have some logistics with travel and leaving behind what was very comfortable and familiar to them and stepping into joining a new team, getting to know their new teammates. Getting familiar will take care of all the ancillary details that go with moving players around and making them feel very wanted and comfortable in and out of the locker room, and then their families are included in that.”

  With having absolutely nothing to go off right now, it feels like of the two, Hathaway would be the easier one to extend should the Bruins decide to pursue that. He’s a local guy, and bottom-six forwards tend to cost less than defensemen just in general. The Bruins also have more openings in that realm compared to defense, as the Bruins already have five left-shooting defenders signed to contracts for 2023-24.

• Don Sweeney continues to move in silence

  

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 26: General Manager Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins speaks during Media Day ahead of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on May 26, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

• One thing I’ve come to really admire about Bruins general manager Don Sweeney, as maddening as it may be as a reporter covering the team he oversees, is how he really doesn’t let much leak out of his camp. That, in 2023, with so many media outlets and so many people involved in hockey ops, is almost impossible.

  Like I said, everybody was thinking Gavrikov, Gavrikov, and Gavrikov. And then shortly after word of Orlov and Hathaway being scratched for trade-related reasons broke, the Bruins had a deal for both players. Almost nobody had much of anything when it came to these players being available and/or moving to Boston.

  “This deal came together relatively quickly by discussions with [Capitals general manager] Brian [MacLellan] who is really, really good to deal with and it was just an opportunity that presented itself,” Sweeney admitted. “We’ve clearly been in the marketplace for a period of time and trying to gauge who may or may not be available and what deals you can do.”

  And while we’re on the topic of Sweeney and how he moves, it’s funny to hear the Blue Jackets venting through the media about their frustrations with the Bruins shifting their focus from Gavrikov to Orlov. If you want a deal done, go get it done or set your own deadline. Don’t tell the team they have to do something else before it can happen or that you’ll wait for them to get it done.

• Bruins maximize a ‘loss’ on Craig Smith

  

  Mar 12, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Craig Smith (12) celebrates after scoring a goal against the Arizona Coyotes during the first period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)

• Everybody in the world knew that the Bruins were trying to find a way to move Craig Smith and his $3.1 million cap hit off their books. The Bruins were able to accomplish that by including Smith in the deal that brought Orlov and Hathaway to Boston, and the value in that is just plain absurd.

  I mean, just look at this way: The Bruins didn’t have to throw in an additional prospect to move Smith. They didn’t have to staple picks to him for a ‘future considerations’ move like other teams have when dumping salary. Instead, they included Smith as part of a picks package that netted them two valuable picks.

  This has been a relatively common theme of Sweeney’s cash-dumping moves. He included Matt Beleskey in the package for Rick Nash in 2018, was able to dump David Backes in the Ondrej Kase trade in 2020, and added John Moore to the Black and Gold’s trade package to the Ducks last year.

  It’s turning obvious trade losses into anything but, and that’s important for organizational health.

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