Brett Connolly was traded to the Boston Bruins. (USATSI)
Former Tampa Bay first-rounder Brett Connolly is headed to the Boston Bruins. (USATSI)

The Boston Bruins announced the club  has acquired forward Brett Connolly from the Tampa Bay Lightning for a 2015 second-round pick and a 2016 second-round pick.

Connolly was Tampa Bay’s pick at sixth overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, which made him the first draft pick of Lightning GM Steve Yzerman’s tenure. The 22-year-old has struggled to seize his NHL opportunities, however.

Connolly appeared in 68 games as a rookie in 2011-12, showing promise, but he ended up getting edged out the following season. He spent the bulk of the next two years in the American Hockey League before becoming a full-time NHLer again this season.

In 50 games this year, Connolly has scored a career-high 12 goals to go along with three assists. At 22, he still has upside to reach another level of his game, but there’s obviously no guarantee there.

The B’s were rumored to be in on Antoine Vermette and Erik Cole, but both were traded to other teams. Connolly may not offer the best consolation prize when the team was pursuing established veterans. This deal represents a risk, and a surprisingly high cost to take on that risk, considering the value of second-round draft picks.

The good news for the Bruins is that Connolly comes extremely cheap, with a $851,000 cap hit. He is also a restricted free agent at the end of the season, with not much leverage to seek big dollars on his next deal. 

The Lightning have placed a lot of faith in young players in their organization, many of whom came in after Connolly was selected. His getting passed up by fresher prospects and the fact that the Lightning still have a deep pipeline to pull from likely made him easier to trade. The return doesn't hurt, either, as the Lightning have done quite well at the draft despite the fact they're trading a former sixth-overall pick now.

It will be interesting to see if this is the end of the Bruins’ trade deadline movement. If it is, Peter Chiarelli might be dealing with a pretty sour fan base as the playoff race in the East only heats up.