SUNRISE, Fla. — Check back in three to four years and we’ll have a much better idea how the Bruins did Friday.

For now, it doesn’t look so good.

Looking at it from General Manager Don Sweeney’s point of view, the blockbuster moves the Bruins made – dealing defenseman Dougie Hamilton and left winger Milan Lucic – were reasonable and sensible.

But those probably are not words most Bruins fans will be using in the wake of the earthquake of changes that shook the team at the NHL draft. All they’re going to see is yet another young star, Hamilton, being sent packing in a cost-saving move – and the Bruins not getting nearly enough in return. Boston received Calgary’s first-round pick (No. 15) and two second-round choices.

For Lucic, they received the Los Angeles Kings’ first-round pick (No. 13) and a pair of prospects. The Bruins thus owned pick Nos. 13, 14 and 15 in Friday’s first round and used them on a trio of players who are unlikely to play in the NHL next season.

Hamilton now goes on a dubious list of discarded talent with Joe Thornton, Phil Kessel and Tyler Seguin.

The Bruins are now a much poorer team, their chances even of making the playoffs in the much-improved Eastern Conference not looking very good. And their future looks less bright with the departure of Hamilton before he’d realized his immense potential.

From Bobby Orr to Ray Bourque to Zdeno Chara, the Bruins have for the past 41/2 decades almost always had a dominant, All-Star level defenseman as the foundation of their team.

The next one was supposed to be Hamilton – and, though the youngster still had quite a way to go to become a complete two-way defenseman, there was every reason to believe he had legit star potential.

“Orr, Bourque, Chara, the Bruins have always had a great defenseman,” said one source on the NHL draft floor yesterday. “Hamilton was going to be the next one. Now who is it going to be? (Torey) Krug?”

That question was asked by many at the draft: How in the world do you let a 22-year-old, future No. 1 defenseman walk away and get nothing back but draft picks? The common opinion: When you’ve got a kid like Hamilton, you do whatever it takes to keep him.

Sweeney explained how, just one month on the job, he decided this was the right thing to do. To sum it up, he felt the Bruins had made Hamilton a very fair contract offer – likely in the range of $3.5 million per year – but the player demanded far more.

Hanging over the situation was the very real threat of another NHL team signing Hamilton, a restricted free agent, to an offer sheet. One Western Conference team president confirmed that the Edmonton Oilers were planning to hand Hamilton an offer sheet – likely in the $5.5 million to $6 million range.

Sweeney said the Bruins, after dumping some $3.3 million of Lucic’s salary, had the ability to match an offer. But instead, they made the deal with Calgary.

“I wasn’t necessarily afraid of the offer sheet,” said Sweeney. “I thought we’d get into a position to be able to match (with the Lucic trade). We extended Dougie a very significant contract offer. It didn’t lead us to where we thought he’d be comfortable as part of our group long term.

“The offer I offered was certainly in line with comparables. The spread (between the Bruins offer and Hamilton’s demand) for me was a sharp indication that maybe we’d be better served if we head in a different direction at this time.”

It’s mighty tough to see how the Bruins are better served for next season.

Sweeney was asked if he expects the Bruins to be a good team next year.

“The expectations are to make the playoffs, absolutely,” he said.