The beginning of summer business for the vast majority of the NHL is well underway.
The Vegas Golden Knights punched their ticket for the Stanley Cup Final, while the Carolina Hurricanes are one game away from knocking out the Montreal Canadiens.
For the other 29 teams, the focus has become solely about how they can improve and become one of the final teams standing.
For the Boston Bruins, it's known that the general manager Don Sweeney wants to upgrade the right side of Boston's defense, while also ideally adding a major top-six forward that helps lighten the load on David Pastrnak.
One player the Bruins could use to try and land one of their top targets remains Mason Lohrei.
Lohrei, 25, scored seven goals and 26 points this past season over 73 games. He wound up a healthy scratch for the final three games of the playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres.
The Bruins initially selected Lohrei as a second-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, and he's been an overall success.
Thursday morning, Lohrei's name appeared on veteran NHL Insider Chris Johnston's trade board for The Athletic.
Johnston furthered reports of the rumored Rasmus Andersson trade the Bruins tried to make, adding Lohrei's name into the mix of that deal.
That deal never came to pass, but Lohrei reportedly remains available.
The Bruins have Jonathan Aspirot, Nikita Zadorov, and Hampus Lindholm for their left side. Lohrei has become excess, and played his off-hand next to Lindholm for the back half of the season.
Still, Lohrei has a ton of raw potential and will be an incredibly valuable trade chip for the Bruins this summer.
It only makes sense to deal Lohrei out if the Bruins are landing a major piece in return, otherwise it feels like the best path forward is to keep developing him.
Lohrei's 6'5, can skate quick, and has shown the ability to play well on both ends of the ice, along with both the left and right side of any blue line.
There shouldn't be a rush to move on from him, unless the Bruins land a major asset in return.