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Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs (Jess Starr/The Hockey Writers)

Bruins Should Pursue Mitch Marner This Free Agency

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Tommy Bennett | Last updated Apr 30, 2025 4:40 PM ET

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs are going on and what an exciting time it’s been. For the Boston Bruins, they are either hitting the golf courses or enjoying their vacations. They’d rather be playing meaningful hockey and that’s where this conversation leads.

General Manager Don Sweeney has his work cut out for him. The Bruins went from making the second round during the 2023-24 season to being a Draft Lottery team picking in the top 10. The pieces are in place with their core group, but there needs to be an injection of talent. When it comes to the free agency class, the biggest fish on the market is the perfect injection of talent. His name is Mitch Marner.

A Player Like Marner Doesn’t Come Around Often

Players like Marner do not grow on trees and do not come around often. His current team is lining up at the forefront to extend him and keep them in the fold. The Toronto Maple Leafs have some key decisions to make and not just with Marner. Do they bring back John Tavares? How do they manage to retain Matthew Knies? It’s definitely something to monitor, but the Bruins won’t be the only ones lining up for his services.

Marner is an elite NHL talent and has been a key part of the Leafs’ offensive attack. Since debuting during the 2016-17 season, Marner has never finished short of 60 points in a single season. That’s a very strong run for him, showing he’s always going to be producing (he has been more than a point-per-game player over his career.) Marner has three 90-plus point seasons in his career and had a career 2024-25, finally reaching the 100-point mark. His 102 points led the Maple Leafs and his 75 assists also stood out.

Marner brings all the tools to the table, including being a good defensive forward (he was nominated for the James Selke Trophy during the 2022-23 season.)

This sounds exactly like the type of player the Bruins need. Here’s why.

The Bruins Need a Marner-Type of Player

Looking at the Bruins’ constructed roster, there is a talent gap when it comes to the forward group. The Bruins have one of the best players in hockey with David Pastrnak, who just finished the 2024-25 season with his third-straight 100-point season. When you look at the Bruins production over the last few seasons you’ll see Pastrnak at the top and then a significant drop off. He finished with 34 more goals than the next-closest player during the 2022-23 season and 18 more than the next closest in 2024-25. The crazy thing is that this season was the first time since 2021-22 a player not named Pastrnak scored more than 30 goals: his name is Morgan Geekie.

The Bruins are going to do everything they can to keep Geekie, but after those two they need more talent and that’s where Marner comes in. Aside from Marner’s statistical output, he can help the Bruins being a driver offensively.

The Bruins struggled offensively this season. They were often beat to loose pucks, found themselves chasing the game, and struggled to score goals. The Bruins ranked 27th in Corsi for percentage (CF%) at 47.71 and also in expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 47.95. That’s not a recipe for success. They struggled to generate scoring chances and got pummeled in the high-danger areas. What the Bruins need most is more talent and to create more offence.

Marner and his ability to produce would give the Bruins an added layer to their attack. He could improve the club during five on five play, but also would help the Bruins’ power play which struggled enormously this season with a 15.2% success rate

The question now remains: can the Bruins afford him? And is it worth it?

Can the Bruins Financially Make it Work?

Entering the offseason, the Bruins will have $27 million in salary cap space. They do have some key decisions to make with pending restricted free agents (RFA) such as Geekie and defenseman Mason Lohrei. But even after those contracts are signed, the rest of the RFA class should not break the bank wide open.

There is going to be room for Marner under the salary cap, especially with the cap expected to rise each of the next few seasons. Will things be tight after this potential signing? Absolutely. Is it worth it? Absolutely.

Bruins Need to Make a Run at Marner

The Bruins’ roster next season will have a lot of younger players. Fraser Minten, Matthew Poitras, and Fabian Lysell all should have roles for the 2025-26 squad. However, those guys should not come in and be the saviours for this offense, but instead be able to contribute and be impactful depth. Marner is a sure thing and has established himself in this league; truthfully, the Bruins just need more higher-end talent in their lineup. They should do their due diligence, check in on him, and look to make a competitive offer to bring him onboard, because Marner and Pastrnak would be an electric duo at the top of the lineup.