Bruins' Vinni Lettieri, Wild's Justin Brazeau and the NHL's year-end game of musical chairs

New York Times

15-04-2025

BRIGHTON, Mass. — The Boston Bruins conclude the regular season on Tuesday against the New Jersey Devils. Vinni Lettieri will then report to Providence. The veteran is hoping for a long run in the AHL playoffs.
Part of that is because his house outside Minneapolis is occupied. Maybe until the middle of June.
Advertisement
'My place is his place,' Lettieri said of ex-Bruin Justin Brazeau, 'until the season is over.'
Lettieri belongs to the cluster of players from 16 NHL teams whose seasons are ending. Some, like the 30-year-old forward, will continue playing in the AHL. Others will participate in the World Championships, which begin in May. But most will return to their offseason homes.
There are some exceptions: landlords whose tenants are advancing to the playoffs.
Hockey players regularly rent their homes to their counterparts. For the most part, their unique schedules align, and players who are traded for each other often find common housing ground. Charlie Coyle, dealt for Casey Mittelstadt, is renting the former Colorado Avalanche forward's property outside Denver.
But this is the time of year when arrivals and departures can overlap. Last season, Kevin Hayes and the St. Louis Blues did not qualify for the playoffs. Hayes returned to Boston. Jeremy Swayman, who had been renting Hayes' place, had to move out and find a new spot while preparing for the postseason.
'It's nice because we all kind of have similar schedules,' Swayman said. 'But if one guy makes the playoffs and the other guy doesn't, then it's kind of weird.'
For Lettieri, the process started in February of 2024, when he and his wife, Cassandra, purchased their Minnesota home. The native of Excelsior, Minn., was in the first season of his two-year contract with the Wild.
Four months later, things took a turn. On June 29, the Wild traded Lettieri to the Bruins.
Jakub Lauko, the player the Wild acquired for Lettieri, was at his offseason home in Czechia when Bruins general manager Don Sweeney called with the news. Wild counterpart Bill Guerin was next in line to welcome Lauko to his new team.
Lettieri was Lauko's third call of the day.
Advertisement
The two knew each other well. In 2022-23, Lettieri appeared in 48 games for Providence. Lauko split the year between Providence (35 games) and Boston (23). So when Lettieri got news of the deal, he called his friend and former Providence teammate right away.
'Just a big laugh,' Lauko recalled of the conversation with a smile. 'Like, 'What the f—?''
After some intercontinental head shakes, Lettieri invited Lauko to live in his house once the season began. Lettieri sent his prospective renter multiple pictures and videos. Lauko considered the offer. It would be about a 30-minute drive to the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. It would eliminate the hassle of house hunting.
Lauko accepted.
'You don't have to worry about the furniture,' said Lauko, whose two-year contract is expiring. 'Which is probably the most pain in the butt for guys who are going on year-to-year contracts or two-year contracts. Honestly, how many guys are here on an eight-year contract in the league that can settle down, buy a house? The guys that are on one-year, two-year contracts, it's hard to move with furniture and stuff. So the best-case scenario is to be in a place that's already furnished. Or guys with places around the league. So those guys who are playing at the same time, they leave, we get in. We leave, they get in.'
Before training camp, Lettieri and his wife settled into their rented place in Providence, where he would likely spend most of 2024-25. Lauko moved into the Lettieris' home.
Things took another turn on March 6. Lauko was in Vancouver with the Wild when Guerin told him he was going back to Boston. The trade caught Lauko by surprise.
That night, Lauko took a car service from Vancouver to Seattle. The next morning, he flew to Tampa to join the Bruins.
On March 8, Lauko played 12:24 in the Bruins' 4-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He returned to Boston that night on the team charter. After what he recalled was approximately 90 minutes of sleep, Lauko flew to Minnesota early the next morning to retrieve his things.
Advertisement
'I had, like, two shirts with me. Two pairs of underwear,' Lauko said. 'Nothing with me.'
It was a whirlwind day. Lauko's sister, who had arrived the day before from Seattle, returned the rental he had been driving. His car had been in the shop. Lauko packed some of his stuff before returning to Boston that night, jammed in a middle seat because he had purchased a last-minute flight. The Netflix shows he had downloaded earlier had expired.
At the same time, Brazeau, who joined the Wild in Vancouver, needed a place to live when the team returned to Minnesota. The Lettieris' home was his natural landing spot. So Brazeau moved in and shoved what Lauko left behind into the Lettieris' guest room.
As for Lettieri and his wife, if the Wild are still playing when Providence's postseason ends, they will live with his grandparents, who are nearby in Minnesota.
'It's important for them to feel comfortable and not have to worry about moving or anything,' Lettieri said of Brazeau and his girlfriend. 'We're lucky enough to have all my family there so we can stay with them. It's no problem for us. We'd be happy for him if they made that kind of a run.'
Meanwhile, Lauko will return to Minnesota at some point this offseason to move the rest of his things out of Lettieri's house. Because he will be a restricted free agent, it's no guarantee he will remain a Bruin in the fall. So he is thinking about keeping his stuff in a storage unit in Minnesota until he receives contractual clarity.
Lauko was informed that Lettieri jokingly worried about the condition in which his former renter left his house.
'He's full of s—,' Lauko cracked back. 'I overpaid for his f—ing place.'
(Top photos of Justin Brazeau and Vinni Lettieri: Bob Frid and Winslow Townson / Imagn Images)