Bruins Score First Round Pick for Martin Jones

It appears Don Sweeney has made a deal Boston Bruins fans don’t have to be mad about.

Just days after acquiring Martin Jones from the Los Angeles Kings, Sweeney and the Bruins shipped the backup goalie to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for a prospect and a first round pick.

The Bruins had acquired Jones as a part of the Milan Lucic trade to Los Angeles. There had been rumors of the Sharks being interested in one of the Bruins goalies, since Jones had made it about three goaltenders competing for the role of Tuukka Rask’s backup.

Seeing it was third round picks as the pricetag for former backup goalies Eddie Lack and Cam Talbot, it would appear the Bruins stole a first round pick as the cost for Jones. They likely never intended for Jones to be a part of the team at all, when they signed their own free agents Zane McIntyre and yesterday, Jeremy Smith.

“We always look for people who fit for now and the future,”Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said of Jones to the Associated Press. “At 25 years of age he fits that quality dead on. With his size, quality of play and our familiarity with him, it was unanimous by our staff where he fit on that list.”

“I think I’m ready to definitely take that step and play more hockey games,” Jones said himself in the Associated Press story. “I had a great two years in L.A. learning from Jonathan Quick. It’s been a big couple of years in my development and I’m looking forward to the new challenge.”

Sean Kuraly is the prospect headed to Boston in the trade, and he is a unsigned since he is a college player still. Kuraly was a fifth round pick by the Sharks in the 2011 NHL entry draft. He is currently entering his senior season with the Miami of Ohio Redhawks, where he had 29 points in 40 games last season.

The Bruins have been the busiest team in hockey this off season, but this may have been the only move so far that fans have universally agreed on. Turning Jones into a first round pick is quite the accomplishment, seeing the goalie market pricetags have been vastly disappointing until that point. It could have been that the Sharks were so desperate after missing out on another deal that they were willing to overpay for a guy who likely wasn’t going to be on the Bruins at all.