Bruins acquire Dmitry Orlov & Garnet Hathaway from the Capitals for Craig Smith & picks

With just eight days left until the NHL trade deadline, the league-leading Boston Bruins made a game-changing deal with the Washington Capitals in a three-team move.

Boston acquired forward Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov in exchange for forward Craig Smith, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick.

The Capitals initially traded Orlov to the Minnesota Wild for prospect Andrei Svetlakov, with Washington keeping half of Orlov’s salary.

Minnesota then moved Orlov to Boston for a 2023 fifth-round pick, with the Wild keeping 25 percent of Orlov’s salary. Additionally, Washington moved Svetlakov to Boston as part of the trade.

In short, The Wild gets a fifth round out of Boston. The Capitals get Smith and first-, second-, and third-round picks from the Bruins. Meanwhile, Boston gets Hathaway, Svetlakov and Orlov while paying just 25 percent of Orlov’s salary.

This move is a huge upgrade for the Bruins, who are moving away from Smith, a winger who was paid handsomely but had a bad year, while bolstering their offensive depth and improving their defensive corps.

For Washington, this indicates the team may be preparing for a rebuild, even though it sits only sixth in the Metropolitan division and just two points behind a wild-card berth.

To start looking at the pieces moved in this exchange, Svetlakov is a 26-year-old skater who currently plays for CSKA Moscow in the Kontinental Hockey League. Minnesota selected him in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft and he has never played outside of Russia.

Hathaway is a reliable power forward who should help improve Boston’s controlling ability in their final six, bringing a physical presence on offense that is something the team used to be feared for.

So far this season, the Florida-born, Maine-raised, Massachusetts-educated Hathaway, 31, has nine goals and seven assists for 16 points in 59 games.

Hathaway played primarily on the fourth line in Washington with Nic Dowd as his center and Lars Eller as his left wing. It’s unclear if Boston would use him as a direct replacement for Smith at the third string, or if they would move wingers Nick Foligno or AJ Greer from the fourth string to take Smith’s place.

Smith had had a difficult season in Boston, his third in a Bruins uniform. After back-to-back 30-plus point seasons, he’s only managed four goals and six assists for ten points in 42 games thus far.

At one point this season, Smith was fired, but he was eventually brought back to Boston. However, the 33-year-old Wisconsin native, who is in the final year of a $3.1 million-a-year contract, couldn’t be productive enough alongside center Charlie Coyle and left winger Taylor Hall.

That brings us to Orlov. The 31-year-old Russian left-handed defender was in the best couple in Washington along with American Trevor van Riemsdyk.

Now, he can likely slot into Boston’s second defensive pairing while the Bruins’ top left pairing, D Hampus Lindholm, is having a Norris Trophy-worthy season.

That would likely put Orlov alongside Brandon Carlo in the second pairing, and return right back Charlie McAvoy to his rightful place in the top pairing.

With 75 percent salary retention, this should be a big boost for the Bruins, who appear to be on pace to win the franchise’s seventh Stanley Cup, their first since 2011.

If Bruins fans have anything to complain about, it’s that, for the third time in five seasons, Boston general manager Don Sweeney traded the team’s first-round pick.

However, considering that Boston did not need to give up one of the best prospects of its worst talent pool in the leaguethis can likely be considered a short-term win for the Bruins.