Brandon Carlo's old trade just came back on Marco Sturm, and the Bruins opened summer with the worst lottery result they could get.

That is the real Boston angle after Toronto won the draft lottery. The Maple Leafs landing No. 1 means the Bruins do not get that 2026 first-round pick from the Carlo deal.

Instead, Boston now has to wait on Toronto's 2027 or 2028 unprotected first-rounder. That is still an asset, but it is nowhere near the same as getting a premium pick right now.

And that is why this hurts so much from the Bruins side. Boston did not just miss out on another first-rounder. It missed out on the chance to add a top-end prospect in this draft.

This is the kind of result that changes how an offseason feels before it even really starts. The Bruins already had work to do after a first-round exit, and now one of their cleaner asset wins just lost a lot of short-term value.

It gets even worse because the player likely going first is Gavin McKenna, and now Boston has to watch one of its biggest rivals sit in that spot instead of handing over a strong pick.

There is no sugarcoating it; this is the absolute worst scenario the Bruins could have gotten at the draft lottery. They not only missed out on a potential sixth- or seventh-overall pick but also will very likely need to deal with Gavin McKenna playing for one of their biggest rivals. - Michael DeRosa

That is the part Bruins fans will hate most. Toronto did not only keep the asset away from Boston. It may have just landed a franchise-changing talent on top of it.

New report delivers tough news for Don Sweeney and Marco Sturm

That is what makes this such a bad start. The Bruins still have a future first coming, but future value does not help as much when the roster needs answers now.

Boston beat expectations just by getting back to the playoffs, but that should not hide the holes. This team still needs help on the blue line, still needs more push up front, and still needed the kind of draft capital that gives a front office more options.

A 2026 pick in the top 10 could have changed a lot. It could have turned into a top prospect, a trade chip, or one more meaningful piece in a summer where Boston needs flexibility.

Now the Bruins wait. That is a much weaker outcome, especially when there is no guarantee Toronto will be bad enough in 2027 or 2028 for that unprotected pick to become a premium one.

So yes, this is a rough way for the offseason to begin in Boston. The Bruins made a smart move when they got the first-round condition into the Carlo trade, but the lottery still found a way to bend the result against them.

And that is the clean truth here. Boston did not lose the asset completely. It lost the timing, the draft position, and maybe the chance to cash in right before a summer that badly needed a break.