On Friday morning, the Boston Bruins announced they traded forward Jeffrey Viel to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2026 fourth-round pick. 

In a subsequent move, the team called up defenseman Billy Sweezey from the Providence Bruins (AHL). 

JEFFREY VIEL TO ANAHEIM

This season, Viel, 28, played in 10 games for the Bruins; he did not register a point. The last time he skated for the Bruins was on December 20, in Vancouver, and he totaled 7:22 of ice time and two penalty minutes. The game in Vancouver was the only time Viel saw in-game action during the month of December. 

He totaled 30 penalty minutes, with two fighting majors and an instigator misconduct helping to raise the number. 

Born in Rimouski, Quebec, and signing with the San Jose Sharks as an undrafted free agent, Viel has played in 64 NHL games. He has three goals and two assists, all coming in 2021-22 with the Sharks. 

He has skated in 349 AHL games for the San Jose Barracuda, Manitoba Moose, and Providence Bruins. In the AHL, he has scored 75 times and added 95 assists; he also has 688 penalty minutes. He has played in playoff games for all three teams as well, totaling 14.

The pick Boston received will be the highest of either Detroit’s or Philadelphia’s draft choice. 

BILLY SWEEZEY RECALLED

Also on Friday morning, the Bruins recalled defenseman Billy Sweezey from Providence (AHL). 

Sweezey, 29, is a native of Hanson, Massachusetts, and joined the organization on July 1, 2024. The six-foot-one right-handed defenseman skated in 98 games for the Providence Bruins while wearing the assistant captain’s “A.” While in Providence, he totaled 100 penalty minutes and posted a plus-29 rating in two seasons. 

Sweezey has not played in the NHL since the 2022-23 season, when he played in nine games for the Columbus Blue Jackets. He had an assist, a minus-three rating, and finished with nine penalty minutes. 

Five of those nine penalty minutes came at the TD Garden. Sweezey and Jakub Lauko squared off for a fight on the blue line on March 30, 2023. 

Sweezey went undrafted and played four years of college hockey at Yale. He signed with the Blue Jackets as a free agent in March 2022, then joined his hometown Bruins in the summer of 2024. 

He will join the Bruins for their quick road trip to Chicago and Dallas, giving the Bruins plenty of defensive depth to choose from. 

With Hampus Lindholm (who is skating) and now Andrew Peeke injured, though not believed to be long-term, the Bruins’ defensive depth includes Sweezey and Vladislav Kolyachonok.