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The trade
Wild get: Forward Justin Brazeau
Bruins get: Forward Marat Khusnutdinov, forward Jakub Lauko, sixth-round pick in 2026
Corey Pronman: Justin Brazeau is a huge winger who has developed into an effective NHL player after being undrafted. He has good hands and offensive IQ and has a heavy element in how he plays. His skating is a major issue, but he’s shown he can outwork that well enough to be a likable bottom-six winger who could be effective in the playoffs.
Marat Khusnutdinov is an excellent skater and competitor who on his best shifts can be an easy player to like. He’s a small center, though, with good not great skill, and has never truly scored at significant levels. For a guy his size without major offense in his game, I’m unsure if he’s more than a bubble NHLer.
Boston fans will obviously be familiar with Lauko, who was drafted by the Bruins in 2018. His skating and work ethic are his calling card, and he has decent hands, but his hockey sense is limited and he doesn’t project to have a ton of offense at the NHL level. He’s also a replacement level type of forward who has struggled to stay healthy.
Brazeau is a pending free agent, but he’s the best player in this deal and an actual useful NHL player. I could see Khusnutdinov get to that level, but he’s not there yet. Minnesota’s offense has been average this season. Brazeau won’t move the needle, but he’s a step in the right direction to improving the Wild’s forward group in the postseason.
Wild grade: B+
Bruins grade: B-
Harman Dayal: Brazeau is a giant 6-foot-6 winger who’s enjoyed a breakout season with 20 points in 57 games as an everyday NHL player for the first time in his career. The 27-year-old pending free agent is one of the slowest players in the NHL but makes an impact with a heavy playing style and genuine net-front utility.
Brazeau excels at winning inside position around the net and has deft hands for a big man. He’ll occasionally surprise you with decent playmaking vision down low too; he’s picked up a few assists this season where he’s controlled the puck behind the net and made a sharp pass to a teammate in the slot.
Brazeau is currently the most impactful NHLer out of the three players involved, so the Wild have upgraded short-term, but I like this deal more for the Bruins because of the modest long-term upside Khusnutdinov could have.
Khusnutdinov was a highly touted prospect from the KHL and while he’s struggled to make an offensive impact in his first full NHL season (seven points in 57 games), he’s still only 22, boasts an impressive speed/work rate combo and is already a very solid defensive player. Furthermore, he didn’t have the most talented linemates to play with this year in Minnesota, so in my mind, it’s too early to write off his offensive game/potential.
There’s a chance Khusnutdinov’s offensive game never grows and that he ends up stuck as a tweener who lacks a distinct enough identity to be an effective bottom-six NHL player, but I would roll the dice on him developing into a decent third-line forward one day.
Khusnutdinov is a significantly more intriguing reclamation project for the Bruins than the mid-round draft pick you’d typically expect to get for a journeyman pending UFA with less than 100 games of NHL experience like Brazeau.
Wild grade: B-
Bruins grade: B+
(Photo: Bob DeChiara / Imagn Images)
