Don Sweeney working on new deal with right-shot defenseman

That need is no secret.

The free agent pool this year is flooded with left-shot defensemen like Vladislav Gavrikov and Ivan Provorov. But right-shot defensemen? Not nearly as many, and that’s what gives Jokiharju real value here.

He’s not going to be your top-pair guy, but he’s a dependable presence on the back end. That’s something Boston can’t afford to overlook, especially with how thin the market is on that side.

Jokiharju’s winding road to Boston  

Still only 25, Jokiharju has bounced around more than most players his age. He was traded from Chicago to Buffalo back in 2019, that deal sent Alexander Nylander the other way, and then this past March, the Sabres shipped him off to Boston for a fourth-round pick in 2026.

That move didn’t make waves at the time, but it quietly gave the Bruins a steady third-pair defenseman who could kill penalties and eat minutes without causing problems. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need in the stretch run.

A sensible re-signing with upside

Re-signing Jokiharju wouldn’t be flashy — but it wouldn’t need to be. This is about depth, flexibility, and having options as the season unfolds. And if things go south again for Boston, he’s the type of piece you can move at the deadline without hesitation.

In a tight cap world, that kind of asset management matters more than it used to.

The team is also still keeping an eye on Alexander Romanov, and there’s ongoing chatter about a potential deal with the Islanders. But those talks aren’t likely to affect Jokiharju’s spot in the pecking order. If anything, bringing both into the mix would only help.

What comes next  

We’re just days away from July 1. Sweeney’s playing it close to the chest, but it’s clear he wants to stabilize the right side of the blue line — and he might already have the solution sitting in his own locker room.

Henri Jokiharju isn’t a headline name, and that’s fine. Boston doesn’t need flash right now. They need function. They need reliability. And unless something changes, it looks like Sweeney is doing what he can to keep that in place.