my guess would be that the bruins don't see Hanifin as a $7.5M player. I think if they did, he'd likely be a bruin with an extension by now. I also think that if he's here, Lohrei isn't.

They don’t have much cap flexibility to make a deal now and my guess is Don isn’t going to negotiate against himself if he believes he can sign him.

I was a tad surprised that Boston signed Brazeau to a two way contract, but he is playing physically imposing play in Providence. I don’t think he has the skating chops to be a viable fourth liner, but maybe?

that's not how this league works - they're good now. really good. hanifin signing in the off-season doesn't help this team compete for a cup in the 23-24 season. If he can work out a deal, it's a safe assumption all efforts will be made.

Everything is a balance between money vs draft picks and young players required to acquire a player.

Your original guess that they don’t view him as a 7.5m player because they haven’t made a deal yet is really based on nothing. The only thing we know is that Calgary and Boston haven’t come up with a trade that works for both sides or it would be done

well, that's why i said it is my guess.....

it is founded highly in logic however.

You haven’t really communicated the logic behind it other than a trade hasn’t happened yet (which was not really logical at all).

sure:
clear need
best player at that position on the market
rumored desire to sign in boston
reported lindholm deal falling through because of a lack of extension
sweeney's general stinginess with long-term extensions, with one exception.

Mine is pretty simple. I believe Sweeney knows he went all in last year and has nominal draft assets especially with the Bertuzzi deal.

He won’t give up their limited assets without a contract extension which put him at a disadvantage with Lindholm (as did our lack of secondary prospects). We’ll see where it puts him with Hanifin.

I’d be surprised if Don doesn’t pursue him either now or in the free agent season, but maybe your guess is right.

there are just so many question marks moving forward, as there are with every NHL team - which is why it's so rare that good teams aren't aggressive buyers.
Will Marchand finally decline - he's well past due
Is the Pastrnak decline around the corner?
Is Jake Debrusk still here?
Goalies are weird, will they still have elite goaltending moving forward as they do now?
what does their blue line look like next year?
Can we ever expect this from Charlie Coyle again?

The team is good now, give yourself a shot.