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Don Sweeney, Boston Bruins general manager, as well as team president Cam Neely, head coach Jim Montgomery and CEO Charlie Jacobs held a Start-of-Season press conference Monday. (Photo by John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Bruins Must Stay Focused on the Future

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Brandon Share-Cohen | Last updated Jan 7, 2026 11:45 AM ET

What a difference a few weeks can make. It wasn’t that long ago that the Boston Bruins were near the top of the Atlantic Division standings with one of the division’s best goal differentials. Fast forward to January 7, 2026, and the Bruins have posted a 3-6-2 record in their last 11 games and are three points out of a Wildcard spot and just six points above last place

It’s certainly been a year full of parity in the NHL. The standings are constantly shifting and it feels like more teams are legitimately in playoff contention this season than just about any in recent memory. With that said, it’s also getting to the point where teams have to evaluate whether they actually have a chance of winning the Stanley Cup.

Bruins Plan for Long-Term Success

The goal for the Bruins has always been to make the playoffs and make a deep postseason run. Though many expected this season to be a retooling year, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney made it clear there were no intentions of rolling over and punting the season. As it stands, this Bruins team isn’t yet Stanley Cup-ready. Because of that, management has to determine which players are part of the long-term foundation and which can be used to accumulate future assets.

As far as prospects go, the Bruins are in as good a place as they’ve ever been. This was especially highlighted during the recent World Junior Hockey Championship when prospects James Hagens and Will Zellers stole the show for the United States. The road ahead appears bright in Boston, but that doesn’t mean management should get complacent. Instead, the goal should be to gather as many potential future impact players as possible to maximize the chance of hitting on a few.

Even if the Bruins happen to play their way back into a playoff spot by the time the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline rolls around, the focus has to be on the big picture. Any acquisitions have to carry future value. Whether the team trades a current roster player for prospects or draft picks, or invests in a player who isn’t a rental but can be a building block with term, this has to be the plan.

The city of Boston has grown accustomed to perennial contention. Sometimes, the path to sustained contention involves breaking a few walls down and building things up over the course of a few seasons. Things may not be fun while the walls are being broken down, but the benefits ideally outweigh the waiting period. A few examples of this can be found in the neighboring New England Patriots and Boston Celtics, with the Boston Red Sox also working towards the same idea.

The Bruins were competitive for the better part of two decades, and that often comes with an end date. It would’ve been fantastic for management to turn things around in just one Trade Deadline and offseason, but that was a pipe dream at best. The Bruins have two first-round picks to work with this season, with one coming courtesy of the Toronto Maple Leafs via the Brandon Carlo trade, assuming they pick outside of the first five selections. That’s as good a starting point as you can hope for in what seems to be a strong, deep draft class. Accumulating more draft picks or near-NHL-ready prospects should be the focus moving forward.