Detroit Red Wings prospect Larry Keenan after being selected 117th overall during the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena on June 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee. Getty
A new trade pitch aimed at the Boston Bruins would send Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei to the Detroit Red Wings for unsigned prospect Larry Keenan and a 2027 third-round pick.
The proposal reshapes both franchises' short-term planning, with Boston clearing cap space while Detroit banks immediate NHL help without surrendering a first-round pick.
The trade was constructed by a user of the PuckPedia roster building and trade-building tool, PuckGM.
GettyDetroit Red Wings prospect Larry Keenan after being selected 117th overall during the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft at Bridgestone Arena on June 29, 2023 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Lohrei, a 6-foot-5, 218-pound left-shot defenseman, was born January 17, 2001, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the first NHL player from that state, according to his official Boston Bruins player profile. Boston drafted him 58th overall in 2020 after a USHL Defenseman of the Year season and a stint at Ohio State, according to his EliteProspects scouting biography.
Across 191 career NHL games, all with Boston, Lohrei has 16 goals and 56 assists , including a league-worst minus-43 in 2024-25 before rebounding to plus-17 in 2025-26. He signed a two-year, $6.4 million extension in June 2025 that expires after this season, when he becomes a restricted free agent, according to the Bruins' own announcement of the deal , and won gold with Team USA at the 2025 IIHF World Championship .
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Keenan, a 6-foot-4, 203-pound left-shot defenseman born March 15, 2005, in Barrie, Ontario, is Detroit's fourth-round pick from 2023, taken 117th overall, according to his PuckPedia prospect page . He has not signed an NHL contract, and his rights expire in June 2027 unsigned.
He went from Culver Military Academy to the Penticton Vees of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) before enrolling at the University of Massachusetts, where he posted 19 points in 36 games as a sophomore and earned All-Hockey East Second Team honors, according to his UMass athletics player roster page .
Keenan is the grandson of the Larry Keenan who scored the first goal in St. Louis Blues history, according to his Detroit Red Wings prospect listing . Scouts call him an aggressive, 200-foot defenseman with a heavy point shot, according to a scouting breakdown from Detroit Hockey Insider , and he is expected back at UMass next season unless he turns pro.
The NHL salary cap rises to $104 million for 2026-27, according to reporting from the Sports Business Journal . Boston carries roughly $98.6 million in commitments and $5.4 million in space, while Detroit sits at $84.4 million committed with $19.6 million open, according to cap sheets at PuckPedia .
Trading Lohrei clears Boston's $3.2 million hit immediately, replacing it with only a modest bonus once Keenan signs an entry-level deal worth $925,000 to $975,000. Detroit absorbs that $3.2 million for a proven, 25-year-old body who can log second-pair minutes and quarterback a power play.
Competitively, the swap favors Detroit short term. The Red Wings need left-shot help behind Moritz Seider , and Lohrei's puck-moving skill fills that gap without touching a first-round asset. Boston, whose left side already includes Hampus Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov , banks a third-round pick and a prospect it can develop or flip. The lingering question is whether Keenan ever becomes an NHL regular.
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