Don Sweeney could not predict whether he would be involved in any trades going into the Friday’s first round of the NHL draft, but the Bruins’ GM made it clear he’s on the hunt.

After the fire sale at the trade deadline, the B’s go into Friday with the No. 7 overall pick and two second-rounders this year, as well as two first-rounders in 2026 and 2027. That’s draft capital the B’s have not had in recent years. Whether Sweeney can turn it into a real live NHL player for the here and now remains to be seen.

“(The team’s scouts) feel really comfortable with where we are picking in the top seven,” said Sweeney on Wednesday. “We’ve had a lot of discussions over the last month and a half with potential options with that pick that we’re still exploring as of today and probably as of (Thursday) as well. We feel very comfortable with making a selection but we’re going to continue to see what might present between now and then.”

Defenseman Matthew Shaefer and center Michael Misa are expected to go one-two but, after that, predictions are all over the board. Any one of seven or eight kids could be available to the B’s at No. 7, including centers James Hagens, Caleb Desnoyers, Anton Frondell, Brady Martin, Jake O’Brien, Roger McQueen and wings Porter Martone and Victor Eklund.

Though the B’s are still in search for the next Patrice Bergeron or David Krejci, Sweeney has not locked himself into taking a center, pointing out that even high-end centers in any given draft can migrate to the wing in the NHL.

“We’re taking the best player,” said Sweeney.

While Sweeney said he’s looking to augment his current roster, he most likely would not be interested in a short-term patch to fill a hole. He believes he still has a foundation of players that, given the right complements, could be back in the mix this upcoming season. But he can’t lose sight of the future.

“We’re going to use all of the opportunities that present to explore what will improve us now and moving forward,” said Sweeney. “I think we have to have an eye on what we’re capable of doing this year and the upcoming years in conjunction with the draft and building around that. That was our philosophy at the deadline and realize we had to take a step back and we’re going to get back into a competitive mindset with an eye towards growing in the future. That’s just what we had to do. As I said before, I don’t think you can be stuck in neutral.”

Whether he’s a part of it or not, Sweeney does expect some trades on Friday.

“We’ve seen some jockeying going on, teams that are wanting to move up, teams that may slide back, teams with multiple picks that they can shuttle around. I think there’ll be some movement,” said Sweeney….

Sweeney remains in contact with RFA forward Morgan Geekie’s camp about a contract extension but there is nothing doing just yet. After his breakout 33-goal season, Geekie’s going to get a large boost in pay from the $2 million he made last season.

“It’s been constant communication. Are we on the doorstep? I don’t think so, but that can change within one phone call,” said Sweeney. “Sometimes you were working in this time frame and you get it done right away and other times, you sort of push it on the back burner to what everybody else is focused on. It doesn’t mean my attention is not on Morgan and being able to close a deal. We have time in that regard, so I’m not concerned about it.”

Though it may not be his preferred route, Sweeney didn’t rule out going to arbitration to ensure a deal gets done.

“Arbitration is possible for both sides,” said Sweeney. “At the end of the day, we’re going to find a deal, whether it’s one(-year) or much, much longer. We have zero issues on the fact that we’re going to find a deal at some point in time.”

Sweeney also has UFAs Henri Jokiharju, Cole Koepke and Parker Wotherspoon plus RFAs John Beecher, Jakub Lauko and Marat Khusnutdinov to deal with. He would not say which RFAs would be receiving qualifying offers that would at least allow the team to maintain their rights.

He did, however, say he’s trying to get a deal done with the right shot defenseman Jokiharju, though he hasn’t been able to get it over the finishing line.

“We have a need on the right side. There’s no question about that,” said Sweeney.

Last offseason, the St. Louis Blue capitalized on the Edmonton Oilers’ cap issues to land forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Phillip Broberg via the rare offer sheets. Sweeney was asked if teams are more likely to go that route now than in the past.

“I just think it takes a unique situation rather just throwing darts up there,” said Sweeney, who would be positioned well to do an offer sheet with the extra first-rounders the next two years. “It generally takes a situation with a team that’s a little bit exposed for somebody to take advantage. You could do it and throw caution but most cases the team has space to match and figure out what to do from there. Whether or not that they’re unhappy about it and down the road there’s a boomerang? Who knows? I think they exist and I think everyone would like to explore it if it would work. It hasn’t worked a lot but when it does, it’s a good move. Last year’s a good example of that.”