Eastern Conference off-season preview: Boston Bruins

It looks like the next few seasons are going to be long for the Boston Bruins.

After nearly two decades of contention, including a Stanley Cup and two other Stanley Cup Final appearances, the Bruins missed the playoffs for just the third time since the 2007-08 season.

Let’s take a look at how their 2024-25 season went, what they did over the off-season, and how the team stacks up heading into the new season.

How the season went

After just 20 games, they fired head coach Jim Montgomery, who almost immediately joined the St. Louis Blues. It was a bit surprising, as the Bruins had an 8-9-3 record the day he was fired, tied for the final Wild Card spot.

They were still in the hunt come Mar. 7’s trade deadline, as they had a 28-28-8 record with 64 points, just three points back (with three more games played). Despite that, they traded their captain, Brad Marchand, to the Florida Panthers. Marchand went on to have an incredible post-season, including being a key factor in the Panthers’ Stanley Cup victory.

Other trades saw the Bruins trade  Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers, Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild, Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche. The latter move brought in Casey Mittelstadt, while they also acquired Henri Jokiharju from the Buffalo Sabres for a 2026 fourth-round pick.

By the end of the season, the Bruins plummeted to a 33-39-10 record, with their 76 points being tied for dead last in the Eastern Conference. 

Drafted players

By finishing near the bottom of the league, the Bruins landed the seventh-overall pick, dropping two spots. They selected James Hagens with the pick, a Boston College player who was a potential number one pick entering the 2024-25 season.

With two picks in the second round, the Bruins selected centre Will Moore and defenceman Liam Pettersson. In the third round, the Bruins selected winger Cooper Simpson, followed by defenceman Vashek Blanár in the fourth round. Their final two picks were Cole Chandler and Kirill Yemelyanov, both centres.

Trades

The Bruins have made a handful of trades since the off-season started. On Jun. 13, they traded Ryan Mast and a 2025 seventh to the Chicago Blackhawks for Victor Söderström. During the draft, they exchanged some picks before trading a 2027 fifth-round pick to the Oilers for Viktor Arvidsson on Canada Day.

Free agent signings

On top of acquiring Arvidsson, the Bruins made a handful of free agent signings on the opening day of free agency. Their two major moves saw them sign Tanner Jeannot to a five-year deal worth $3.4 million annually and Michael Eyssimont to a two-year deal worth $1.45 million annually.

The Bruins picked up a few depth players, namely Sean Kuraly, Matej Blumel, Jordan Harris, and Jonathan Aspirot, but they didn’t replace the talent they traded at the trade deadline.

Before free agency began, the Bruins re-signed Morgan Geekie to a six-year deal worth $5.5 million, as well as Jokiharju to a three-year deal worth $3 million. Mason Lohrei and Söderström also re-signed.

Joe Sacco was let go after serving as the interim coach after Montgomery was let go, but the Bruins replaced him with Marco Sturm.

Departures

After gutting their depth at the trade deadline, there weren’t a whole lot of departures. Jakub Lauko, who fought Ryan Lomberg last season, signed in his home nation of Czechia. Parker Wotherspoon signed with the Penguins.

What the team looks like heading into 2025-26

That begs the question: how do the Bruins look heading into the 2025-26 season? Down the middle, the Bruins will deploy former Calgary Flame Elias Lindholm, as well as Mittelstadt, Matthew Poitras, and Kuraly. Their top six wingers consist of Geekie, David Pastrňák, Pavel Zacha, and Arvidsson. In their bottom six, they’ll have Jeannot, Marat Khusnutdinov, John Beecher, and Eyssimont, not particularly strong.

A big reason for their second-half struggles is because of Charlie McAvoy’s injury. He should be good to go heading into the 2025-26 season. Lohrei, Hampus Lindholm, Jokiharju, Nikita Zadorov, and Andrew Peeke make up the rest of their defence core.

In net, Jeremy Swayman looks to have a bounce-back season, but if he can’t, he’ll split the crease with Joonas Korpisalo. Time will tell if this is a retool or a full-on rebuild for the Bruins.