Bruins acquire Hathaway, Orlov from Capitals for Smith, picks

The Boston Bruins acquired forward Garnet Hathaway and defenseman Dmitry Orlov from the Washington Capitals in exchange for forward Craig Smith, a 2023 first-round pick, a 2025 second-round pick, and a 2024 third-round pick, the teams announced Thursday.

The Capitals will retain 50% of Orlov's salary as part of the trade. The Minnesota Wild are also retaining an additional 25% and sent Boston the rights to forward Andrei Svetlakov in exchange for the Bruins' 2023 fifth-round pick.

Boston's pair of new acquisitions can both become unrestricted free agents in the summer. Before retention, Orlov carried a cap hit of $5.1 million, but he'll now cost the Bruins $1.275 million. Hathaway, meanwhile, comes with a $1.5-million price tag.

Orlov and Hathaway were set to be scratched for Thursday's game against the Anaheim Ducks due to trade-related reasons.

Boston has been a dominant force all season long, sitting atop the league with a 44-8-5 record following Thursday's thrilling 6-5 win over the Kraken. The Bruins are on pace for 134 points and 63 wins, which would set two NHL records.

By adding Orlov and Hathaway, Boston has done well to shore up its blue line and bottom-six forward group.

Hathaway, 31, has nine goals and seven assists in 59 games this season while leading the Capitals with 198 hits and pacing all Washington forwards with 65 blocks.

Orlov, 31, ranks second on the Caps in average ice time (22:43) while chipping in with three goals, 19 points, 88 hits, and 62 blocks in 43 games.

The Capitals find themselves in an interesting spot. Following Thursday's 4-2 loss to the Ducks, the team sits two points behind the Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but Detroit has three games in hand.

With Washington's place in the playoffs on unsteady ground, extensions for Hathaway and Orlov did not appear to be imminent.

"This trade allows us to acquire draft capital, infuse youth, and restock our system," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said. "While this season has proven challenging with injuries to our significant players, we are in a position to use some of our current assets to retool our club and build a competitive team moving forward."

Rounding out Boston's haul, Svetlakov was selected by the Wild in the sixth round of the 2017 draft. The 26-year-old has 27 points in 66 KHL games this campaign.

On the Capitals' end, Smith, 33, has logged four goals and six assists in 42 games this season.