2025-26 Puck Drop Preview: Boston Bruins

Last Word On Hockey’s Puck Drop Previews are here for the 2025-26 season! As the regular seasons draws near, we will be previewing each teams’ current outlook and stories to watch for the upcoming season. We will also do our best to project how things will go for each team throughout the campaign. Today, we’re previewing the 2025-26 Boston Bruins.

2025-26 Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins 2024-25 Season Recap

Boston had been flying high for most of the last decade. However, what goes up… must come down and the Bruins came down hard. The team had a slow start and head coach Jim Montgomery was let go. Goalie Jeremy Swayman held out and missed the opening part of the season. The Alaskan netminder got that big-money deal, but he struggled mightily last season.

The Bruins turned to Joe Sacco behind the bench and he did get a bit of a new coach bump. However, the Bruins thudded hard and the fire sale happened. General manager Don Sweeney parted with Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, and Brandon Carlo, among others. The Bruins got some young players, but the season was lost at that point. It wouldn’t be considered a rebuild in Beantown, but a definite retool was in effect.

The 2025 NHL Offseason for Boston

Sweeney and team president Cam Neely knew they had to do restock the cupboard and get things going in the right direction. However, it seemed to be a very frustrating offseason. Boston didn’t land the big fish in free agency that they were hoping to get.

The Bruins did get a number of depth signings like Viktor Arvidsson, Michael Eyssimont, Tanner Jeannot, and Sean Kuraly among others. However, it wasn’t the big name that fans wanted.

The job of leading this team falls to former Bruins player Marco Sturm. It’s already a high-pressure gig coaching one of the most storied teams in NHL history. However, it’s a tall task with what may be ahead for the club.

Projected Lineup

Forwards

Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak

Pavel Zacha – Casey Mittelstadt – Viktor Arvidsson

Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Matej Blumel

Mikey Eyssimont – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic

Extras: John Beecher, Matthew Poitras, Fabian Lysell, Marat Khusnutdinov

Top-Six

Despite the struggles of most of the team, Pastrnak put up another strong season. The Czech forward posted 106 points despite having to deal with tough matchups. Pastrnak accounted for over 47-percent of the team’s offence. Geekie was the one that fed off of Pastrnak’s strong season. The winger posted a career-high 33 goals and 57 points in 77 games. Lindholm struggled early in the season, but rebounded after Sacco trusted him with more minutes.

Both Zacha and Mittelstadt have both been the subject of off-season trade rumours. Zacha’s numbers took a dip with 47 points in 82 games. Arvidsson also had his issues putting the puck in the net with the Edmonton Oilers. The Swede tallied 15 goals last campaign, but has put up 20 to 30 goals at a number of points in his career. Mittelstadt has been inconsistent in his career, but Zach and Arvidsson could help the young pivot improve.

Bottom Six

Jeannot’s deal seems like a massive risk from Sweeney. The Saskatchewan native inked a five-year deal worth $17 million, but he’s a few seasons away from his breakout campaign with the Nashville Predators. He’ll have to find that form that’s been eluding him for the few campaigns. Minten is a highly-touted prospect that came over in the Carlo trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The third-line centre shows promise, but there will be plenty of pressure on him. Blumel could be a sneaky good pickup after spending loads of time in the Dallas Stars system.

It’s a reunion for Kuraly and the Bruins, as he returns from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He’ll bring experience to the bottom-half of the lineup. Eyssimont split time with the Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken, but wants to be more than a placeholder. Kastelic was a bright spot in an otherwise dark season. There are a number of players that will also try to fight for spots in the lineup.

Defensive Pairings

Hampus Lindholm – Charlie McAvoy

Nikita Zadorov – Henri Jokiharju

Mason Lohrei – Andrew Peeke

Top Four

Boston’s top four is actually one of their more promising areas. McAvoy’s season was derailed after an injury suffered at the Four Nations Face-Off. His injury seemingly ended any chance that the B’s would make a Stanley Cup Playoff push. Lindholm was also injured and that also caused a big hole in the lineup.

One of the few positives from the end of the season was the pairing of Zadorov and Jokiharju. Zadorov had a slow start after being originally paired with McAvoy. However, he found his rhythm when Jokiharju came over from the Buffalo Sabres. The Russian can be very effective if he can stay out of the penalty box. Jokiharju may be small, but he can be very effect at moving the puck.

Bottom Pairing

Lohrei had his struggles last season and was on the ice for a plethora of goals. The addition of Jokiharju may bump Lohrei to the third pair and give him some protected minutes. Peeke provides experience on the other side of Lohrei.

Goalies

Jeremy Swayman

Joonas Korpisalo

Swayman’s holdout seemingly put the Bruins behind the eight ball early in the season. The 26-year-old carded a save percentage of .892 and gave up 176 goals. It was also the first season he took most of the games with Linus Ullmark going to the Ottawa Senators. However, was his old self as he backstopped Team USA to the gold medal at the IIHF World Championships.

Korpisalo shouldered the load with Swayman’s issues. The veteran netminder was adequate, but will need to be more consistent if he wants to take games off Swayman’s plate. Boston is hoping that Korpisalo get more games so Swayman won’t have to play in 58 games like he did last season.

Players to Watch

Tanner Jeannot

One of the more surprising deals signed was Jeannot getting a five-year contract. As mentioned before, Jeannot had a great rookie season. However, his production has fallen off a cliff after the deal to Tampa Bay. The journeyman forward does have a physical edge, but need to up his production in order to justify the big investment.

Jeremy Swayman

We’ve documented Swayman’s struggles in this preview. However, he does have  the potential to bounce back. The defence in front of him will need to be be better. However, the Alaskan has to do his part if he wants to give the B’s a chance to fight for a post-season spot.

Charlie McAvoy

The American blueliner is an important part of this roster. His injury blew a massive hole in the lineup and the team had to scramble to fill that void. We’ll have to see how he does in his return from a major injury.

Prediction for the 2025-26 Boston Bruins

The Atlantic Division is a minefield with teams the Maple Leafs, Senators, Lightning and the two-time Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. Let’s also remember that the Detroit Red Wings and the Sabres are also fighting to get among the playoff teams. This team will have to gel quickly in order to have any designs at being in the mix at the end of the season.

There are some talented players like Pastrnak, Swayman and McAvoy. However, the team’s depth has been depleted with the trades that were made last season. Boston missed out on that second star player that would compliment Pastrnak. Teams with depth will be able to focus on shutting down that top line.

Boston seems like a team that will finish sixth through eighth in the very loaded Atlantic. The dream scenario could be to bottom out and have a chance at landing Gavin McKenna in the 2026 NHL Draft.