Bruins Newcomer Thrilled With ‘Unbelievable’ Opportunity
Bruins forward Marat Khusnutdinov was traded to Boston with Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round pick in exchange for forward Justin Brazeau just before the NHL trade deadline.
The second-round draft pick was averaging just over 11 minutes of ice time per game with the Minnesota Wild before being demoted to Iowa in the AHL due to salary cap restraints just four days before being dealt to Boston.
Khusnutdinov said that he had taken a six or seven-hour bus ride with Iowa for a game against the Rockford IceHogs when he got the phone call from Wild general manager Bill Guerin telling the 22-year-old forward he had been traded to the Bruins, according to The Boston Globe’s Jim McBride.
Since joining the Black and Gold, Khusnutdinov has played nearly 15 minutes per game and registered two goals on just three shots across five games. Interim head coach Joe Sacco has not only given Khusnutdinov more ice time on the third line with Lauko and Elias Lindholm but he’s used him on the second power-play unit with Ian Mitchell, Henri Jokiharju, Pavel Zacha, and Vinni Lettieri.
“Glad to be here. It’s a new experience. It’s a new team for me, and I have more ice time, second power play. It’s what I want,” Khusnutdinov said, per McBride. “Yeah, it’s perfect, it’s more ice time. I can show my skill. It’s more momentum, more shots. I think it’s good for a player if you play top six. I’d say unbelievable.”
Sacco has been impressed with what Khusnutdinov has done since joining the Bruins.
“He plays with some pace, and he’s on top of pucks quickly. So, we like that. We like that part of his game,” Sacco said, per McBride. “I think the one thing he’s got to continue to work on is just away from the puck, but that’s something that we can build into his game, hopefully.”
Khusnutdinov is a restricted free agent at the end of the season but has already expressed an interest in staying with the Orginal Six franchise.
“A hundred percent,” he said. “It’s an unbelievable team and an unbelievable city. If I signed a contract here and stayed, I’d be so happy.”