The offseason has arrived for all but the two teams still participating in the playoffs. Otherwise, it is time to examine what they will have to achieve in the coming months. The next step is to take a look at Boston.
There were some question marks surrounding the Bruins heading into the season after losing both. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. However, they nearly won the Atlantic Division again to extend their playoff streak to eight consecutive years. Boston beat Toronto in the first round before falling to Florida in the second round. Armed with cap and roster flexibility for the first time in a long time, general manager Don Sweeney has the opportunity to reshape the roster or keep most of the core together. This is what should be on his to-do list in the coming weeks.
Add center of impact
After losing their two top seconds from the previous year, the Bruins didn’t do much to replace them. Morgan Geekie came after not being bid by Seattle while John Beecher and Mateo Poitras They emerged from the minors and OHL respectively to largely fill the other vacancy. Meanwhile, charlie coyle and pavel zacha He covered the difficult minutes. All things considered, they cobbled together a solution relatively well given their hard cap limitations.
Now they don’t have those limitations; They have more than 21 million dollars in cap space, by CapFriendly. They now have the opportunity – and the need – to try to address that issue. While his internal options did well, they are not the group of middlemen that a contender typically has.
There isn’t any true No. 1 option on the open market this summer, but there are some proven second options that can at least give them more impactful depth. They were speculatively linked to Elias Lindholm last summer and it stands to reason that they would be interested in someone who can cover the difficult round-trip minutes like Bergeron used to do.
Secondary options include Chandler Stephenson, Sean Monahanand Matt Duchene. All three have had success on the second line recently and have some upside on the offensive end. They may not produce more than the 60 and 59 points that Coyle and Zacha scored, but a third playmaker in that range would lengthen their offense and protect them from some injuries.
In theory, they could try to negotiate for a center, but given the dearth of trade assets they have (a byproduct of doing so regularly), it’s hard to see them putting together a package that could land one of the top six pieces, so turning to the agency Free should be your way.
Goalkeeper decisions
Over the last few years, the Bruins have had a top-level goaltending duo between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark, allowing them to have entry-level goalies every night. However, it is about to become too expensive a luxury for them.
Swayman and the Bruins couldn’t agree on a contract last season, prompting the two sides to go to arbitration where he was awarded $3.475 million. Now, with another strong campaign under their belt, Swayman’s team has a better case this time and will be headed for another big surge. Another one-year deal would surpass the $5 million mark, but it’s clear that this time both sides will want to reach a longer-term deal. A deal that buys multiple years of club control should cost at least $6 million, while a maximum-term deal will likely top $7 million, doubling its price from this season.
With that kind of commitment to Swayman, Ullmark becomes a very expensive second option with one year and $5 million left on his contract. While they have enough cap space to carry both, that is not necessarily the best use of their cap space with the other positions they will be looking to fill on their roster. That means they will turn to the trade market as they had at the trade deadline when Ullmark is believed to have rejected a trade with his partial protection.
Ullmark will still have the ability to block a trade for nearly half the league this summer, so it’s not a given that anything will be done with Boston’s preferred option. It’s unfortunate for them that Ullmark is on the market at a time when he’s probably not seen as the number one option available, and goaltenders generally don’t generate high-level returns very often. But they should find the best deal they can get in the coming weeks to address this before free agency opens, because then they’ll know if they were able to fill a need with the trade or if it’s future. -Package based on, if they will have other assets to trade to meet one of those needs.
Sweeney will also have to decide whether to go with the rookie. Brandon Bus as the second option behind Swayman next season or if they want to bring in a more experienced veteran. If they don’t land a veteran to serve as a backup in the NHL, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them look for a third veteran to partner with. Michael DiPietro in the minors.
Re-sign or replace DeBrusk
Jake DebruskMichael’s future with the Bruins has been murky for several years, dating back to his trade request, extension, and eventual rescission of that request. But even after that time, his name came up as a possible liability to match salaries in hypothetical scenarios in which Boston got a more impactful winger or help in the middle.
One way or another, the uncertainty will come to an end in the coming weeks. DeBrusk is now a pending unrestricted free agent and is one of the youngest players to hit the open market next month. Consequently, the time has come for the Bruins to decide if he is part of their future plans that would require a long-term commitment and keep him away from any trade speculation. Alternatively, they will split in early July and Sweeney will be looking for a replacement.
The 27-year-old has reached the 40-point mark five times in his seven-year career, but only reached the 50-point mark once in 2022-23. Still, he is in line to receive a sizable raise from the $4 million he earned over the past two seasons. It’s possible that a long-term deal could top $6 million if the open market is as strong as some claim. Boston has the money to pay that if it wants or could accept that offer and look for other options on the open market.
There are some wingers who should control that price in free agency. Tyler Toffoli, Vladimir Tarasenkoand David Perron They are short-term options if you don’t want to make a long-term commitment at that time while Teuvo Teravainen and Tyler Bertuzzi (someone already familiar with the team) could work out longer-term deals. Viktor Arvidsson He could also be a good fit, but after an injury-prone year, he may want just a one-year deal to bolster his market value for 2025-26. Either way, whether re-signing or replacing DeBrusk, the Bruins have a big contract to spread on the wing.
Add depth
Last summer, the Bruins had several roster spots to fill on the cheap, resulting in a lot of short-term contracts for role players. Among them were James van Riemsdyk, Danton Heinen, Milan Lucicand Kevin Shattenkirkall of whom will return to the open market this summer, so Sweeney will likely look to follow a similar script this time around.
Up front, they have at least two and possibly up to four spots to fill for as long as possible. Pat Maroon It is also a pending UFA. They won’t necessarily be as limited in terms of having to look for players who will accept near the league minimum, although if they are able to land an impact center and keep or replace DeBrusk, they will have to look for bargains at some point. The good news for them is that there will be many players who will be in that price range. They may not all sign quickly, but Sweeney should be able to fill those positions.
In the back, with Mason Lohrei proving that he is ready to work full time in the NHL, the acquisition of andres banks on the trade deadline, and Parker Wotherspoon defending themselves, they really just have to fill one spot even with Shattenkirk, Matt Grzelcykand Derek Forbort all heading to the open market. As a result, they could target someone with a slightly higher price tag who could fill a fourth or fifth role. It also wouldn’t be surprising to see a defenseman with additional depth added to the battle for seventh place. Again, there are a lot of blueliners that fit in these buckets, so you should be able to take care of this one pretty easily.
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