Mailbag: Bruins deadline acquisitions, Rangers projected playoff lineup

Here is the March 30 edition of the mailbag, where we answer your questions asked on Twitter using #OvertheBoards. Tweet your questions to @drosennhl.

Thoughts on the Boston Bruins trade deadline? -- @bahstonspahts
Strong.
You have to be crazy not to love the addition of defenseman Hampus Lindholm and the subsequent eight-year, $52 million contract ($6.5 million average annual value). Lindholm is 28 years old and will be a top-four defenseman in Boston for the foreseeable future. He and Charlie McAvoy have instantly formed one of the best defense pairs in the NHL. The Bruins traded defensemen John Moore and Urho Vaakanainen, a first-round pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, a second-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and a second-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft to the Anaheim Ducks for Lindholm. Honestly, it's a steal for Boston, but not necessarily a loss for Anaheim. Maybe Vaakanainen turns into a regular top-six defenseman for the Ducks, but he has a long way to go to become what Lindholm will be for the Bruins. The draft picks are unknowns. Could they pan out to be great for the Ducks? Sure, but the Bruins got the sure thing, which is what they needed. The Ducks are rebuilding, and the draft picks plus Vaakanainen will help them get younger and put a team together around forwards Trevor Zegras, Troy Terry and
Mason McTavish
, and defenseman Jamie Drysdale. The Bruins are in it to win it now and Lindholm helps keep their window open.
Boston also added size in depth defenseman Josh Brown (6-foot-5, 220 pounds) by giving up forward Zach Senyshyn, a first-round pick (No. 15) in the 2015 NHL Draft who wasn't panning out, plus a fifth-round pick in the 2022 draft. Brown has been a healthy scratch in the four games since the Bruins acquired him in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on March 21, but he's an option if they want to go with a bigger lineup. He played 46 games for the Senators and had six assists in 13:59 of ice time per game.
I also liked that the Bruins signed forward Jake DeBrusk to a two-year, $8 million contract ($4 million AAV). They may still trade DeBrusk in the offseason, granting him a request he made earlier this season, but now they're in a stronger position because any team acquiring him knows exactly what he counts against the NHL salary cap and can accommodate for it. He would have been a restricted free agent.
So, yeah, the Bruins trade deadline was strong.

Do you see Seattle Kraken goalie Chris Driedger getting traded this offseason? He won't supplant Philipp Grubauer and his contract isn't that bad to take a chance on him for a team in need of a goalie. -- @GLaSnoST9
It's not a bad thought. Driedger has a favorable contract, two years remaining after this season with an NHL salary cap charge of $3.5 million. Seattle also has Joey Daccord, who was selected from the Senators in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, and Driedger would be expendable if the Kraken believe Daccord could back up Grubauer. Seattle would have to fill out their organizational goaltending depth behind Grubauer and Daccord through free agency, trades or drafting, but I think that's part of the offseason plan as is.
Driedger could be a reasonable candidate to compete to be the No. 1 goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers or New Jersey Devils next season. What the Ducks do with goalie John Gibson also plays a role here. If he's available, it'll limit Driedger's market, but Driedger's contract is worth the gamble even though he hasn't had a strong season (6-9-1 with a 3.22 goals-against average and .892 save percentage in 19 games). Let's take that for what it is too, a combination of his play and the Kraken's play in front of him, with a lean toward the latter being a bigger culprit. Seattle is 27th in the NHL in goals-against per game (3.52) and 30th on the penalty kill (73.3 percent). Driedger was 14-6-3 with a 2.07 GAA and .927 save percentage in 23 games for the Florida Panthers last season. He didn't become a bad goalie in one season; the team in front of him this season is simply not as good as it was last season. Grubauer has been victimized by the poor defense too; he is 15-27-5 with a 3.19 GAA, an .889 save percentage and one shutout in 48 games (47 starts). He was third last season in voting for the Vezina Trophy given to the best goalie in the NHL.
What do you expect the New York Rangers' lineup to be for the first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs? -- @MattFitz2838
These are fun projects. Let's assume everyone is healthy and they're playing the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference First Round, because that's the projection today. The Rangers will need a mobile lineup, so here's what I would go with right now:
Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Andrew Copp
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Kaapo Kakko
Alexis Lafreniere
-- Filip Chytil -- Barclay Goodrow
Tyler Motte -- Kevin Rooney -- Frank Vatrano
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba
Patrik Nemeth -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Alexandar Georgiev
Scratched: Dryden Hunt, Jonny Brodzinski, Ryan Reaves, Julien Gauthier, Greg McKegg, Justin Braun, Libor Hajek
The need for mobility means Schneider should be in, leaving Braun as a healthy scratch. Lafreniere has looked good and comfortable playing left wing, his strong side and natural position, on the third line as opposed to being the first-line right wing. It makes sense to keep him where he's most comfortable and the Rangers are getting more out of him at left wing. Kakko, who hasn't played since Jan. 21 because of an upper-body injury, is a natural fit to be the right wing on the second line with Strome and Panarin. I have Copp as the top-line right wing because he can skate with Kreider and Zibanejad, win pucks in the corners and along the wall for them, and take face-offs on the left side, his strong side (Zibanejad is a righty). Rooney, Vatrano and Motte give the Rangers an aggressive fourth line that can score. If they wanted to go bigger, they could use Reaves instead of Vatrano. If there are injuries, Hunt and Brodzinski are versatile enough to fill different roles. The top two defense pairs have been the same for a long time. No need to change there. And, of course, Shesterkin starts.

Give me your 2017 top-five redraft order? -- @joseph691420169
Another fun exercise.
1. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche (originally No. 4 to the Avalanche)
This one is a no-brainer. Makar might win the Norris Trophy voted as the best defenseman in the NHL this season. He will win it multiple times in his career. He's 14th in games played among players selected in the 2017 NHL Draft (164) and he's third in scoring with 168 points (44 goals, 124 assists). That's remarkable for a defenseman.
2. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars (originally No. 3 to the Stars)
Heiskanen will be chasing Makar for the Norris Trophy for the next decade-plus. He's outstanding with his mobility, hockey IQ, defensive awareness and offensive instincts. He is second in the 2017 draft class in games played (257) and sixth in scoring with 124 points (32 goals, 92 assists).
3. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars (originally No. 39 to the Stars)
The forward is a burgeoning star and an absolute steal with the No. 39 pick. He was second behind Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov in voting for the Calder Trophy given to the NHL rookie of the year last season, when he scored 45 points (17 goals, 28 assists) in 51 games. He has scored 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists) in 57 games this season.
4. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks (originally No. 5 to the Canucks)
The center is the leading scorer among the players selected in the 2017 draft with 200 points (85 goals, 115 assists) in 231 games. A wrist injury limited him to 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 26 games last season. He had a slow start this season, scoring 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in 37 games through Jan. 15, but has scored 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 29 games since. Pettersson is an elite playmaking center.
5. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils (originally No. 1 to the Devils)
Hischier is the type of center every team needs to win the Stanley Cup. He's mobile and plays a 200-foot game. He can play in a shutdown role or an offensive role, on the top power-play unit and on the penalty kill. He is second in scoring with 193 points (75 goals, 118 assists) and first in games played (287) among the players drafted in 2017. He may never live up to the hype of being a No. 1 pick, but Hischier is going to have a long, productive career.
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