For the Bruins, it has been a race to the summer.
Boston spent the last week running Development Camp and expanding their roster through free agency, only days after adding James Hagens and a number of other exciting talents to their pipeline during the 2025 NHL Draft.
While the early returns during Dev Camp were more encouraging, the Bruins’ free-agency haul left much to be wanted in terms of adding some much-needed offense to the squad.
Here are some lingering thoughts from a hectic week for Boston as the NHL offseason slows down over the next month or two.
1. It s unclear where the offense is going to come from next season
The good news? David Pastrnak, one of the world’s most talented offensive players, is still with the Bruins.
The bad news? When it comes to packing the stat sheet, the 29-year-old winger may be on an island once more this season.
Tuesday saw ten roster changes for the Bruins, including the acquisition of winger Viktor Arvidsson and the signing of nine free agents.
The only player in that group to score more than ten goals in the previous campaign was Arvidsson. For a Boston team that finished 29th in the league in goals per game in 2024–25, this isn’t exactly encouraging.
Given his history of scoring goals, Arvidsson seemed like a natural trade target for Boston. He can score off the rush, peppers the net, and has five 20-goal campaigns on his resume, despite his lackluster season with Edmonton last year (15 goals, 27 points in 67 games). For an offense-starved squad, he is a valuable flyer.
However, Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Michael Eyssimont, Boston’s other free-agent forward who is anticipated to play regularly in the NHL, combined for just 22 goals last season.
Speaking on Tuesday, Don Sweeney said he was certain the Bruins, who prioritized physicality and competition this week, have the tools to score goals on a regular basis.
However, it will take a lot of obstacles to get Boston to become at least a strong offensive squad.
To put it mildly, Pastrnak’s offensive genius must continue.
However, Morgan Geekie, who recorded a career-high shooting % of 20.16 in 2024–25, must also make sure that his 33-goal season the previous year was not an anomaly.
With Boston outscoring opponents 16–4 in the 93:57 of their five-on-five ice time together, Elias Lindholm has to continue his excellent finish to the season while skating with Pastrnak and Geekie.
Additionally, Boston wants Casey Mittelstadt to establish himself as a reliable middle-six playmaker, most likely in tandem with Arvidsson and Pavel Zacha.
In order for Boston to at least throw a few punches at even-strength play, it is fair to say that a lot needs to go their way.
To put it mildly, it’s a risky wager.
To score goals and put everything together, this team will need to put in a lot of effort, Sweeney stated. They are all competent. Arvy has the ability to score 20 goals. Geeks are now able to score thirty points. That does not imply that I am praising them for their professional achievements.
However, I do think that if we play the right manner, we will score enough points when you consider the entire team and their abilities. We’ll also play much better defense, and I anticipate much improved goaltending.
2. Passing on other scoring wingers
was an odd call
This free-agency class was essentially a failure for the NHL as a whole.
A largely empty pool of talent was available for acquisition because most teams had the resources to keep their best players before they went on the market due to the salary cap spike and several clubs’ unexpected financial success.
Despite Boston’s obvious need to acquire another 20-goal player to their middle-six grouping, options like Brock Boeser weren’t even available.
However, given that the team is doubling down on several forwards in the bottom six, it is perplexing that the Bruins are unable to at least add another winger with some offensive flair.
Given Eyssimont’s determination to be a fly in the ointment on every shift and Kuraly’s senior presence, this Boston club would be wise to recruit one or two players like them in a vacuum.
Given that AFP Analytics predicted Jeannot to sign a two-year contract this summer costing just $1.42 million, even a punishing player like Jeannot could have some value in a fourth-line position for Boston.
The three players were signed by Boston for a total cap charge of $6.7 million, including a massive five-year contract for Jeannot that carries a $3.4 million annual cap hit.
It’s possible that Boston was unable to add Nikolaj Ehlers or Boeser this summer.
Connor Brown ($3 million AAV), Jonathan Drouin ($4 million AAV), Evgenii Dadonov ($1 million AAV), Andrew Mangiapane ($3.6 million AAV), Anthony Mantha ($2.5 million AAV), Mason Appleton ($2.5 million AAV), or Gustav Nyquist ($3.25 million AAV) are just a few of the middle-six wingers that the Bruins could have acquired for what appeared to be fair value.
There’s no assurance that some of those forward signings would be real game changers on this club, so some of those names may make Bruins supporters cringe.
But compared to the triumvirate of Jeannot, Kuraly, and Eyssimont, that crop has a significantly higher offensive ceiling.
3. Will a youth movement be underway?
One bright spot in the 2025–26 season might be the chance given to young players like Fraser Minten, Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell, Dans Locmelis, and other Providence regulars to try to establish regular roles this winter if Boston is going to have another bridge year while letting prospects like James Hagens develop at BC.
The Bruins and their supporters would be relieved to hear that, despite some of those growing pains along the way, the team will start 2026–2027 with, say, Minten locked into a 3C role and a Lysell or Locmelis ready for regular minutes in a middle-six position.
Perhaps this would be a good time to let those kids run. Will there even be a chance, though, given the current makeup of the roster?
Let’s assume for the purposes of this exercise that Pastrnak, Lindholm, Geekie, Zacha, Mittelstadt, and Arvidsson will be in Boston’s top six grouping the following season.
Six forward places remain in the bottom six, and regular NHL appearances are held by Jeannot, Kuraly, Eyssimont, Mark Kastelic, Johnny Beecher, and Marat Khusnutdinov.
That doesn’t even include free-agent acquisitions like Alex Steeves and Matej Blumel, who may be ready for an NHL look after dominating the American Hockey League in recent years.
Given the likelihood that guys like Poitras, Lysell, Minten, and others will outperform some of those forwards on the depth chart, it is reasonable to expect that the Bruins would emphasize competition during training camp.
However, Boston is already facing a significant roadblock.
4. No qualms with Blumel, Jokiharju signings
One of Sweeney and the Bruins’ most interesting moves of the day? Matej Blumel, a Czech forward, was signed with the hope of scoring some goals.
With 39 goals and 33 assists for 72 points in 67 games with the Texas Stars, Dallas’ AHL club, this past season, the 25-year-old winger was among the AHL’s top goal scorers in recent years.
Despite averaging less than 10 minutes of ice time per game, the 6-foot, 205-pound forward has landed 19 shots on goal and created 12.6 high-danger scoring opportunities over 60 minutes, but he has only scored two goals in 13 games with Dallas.
Blumel may struggle to establish himself as a regular coming out of camp, much like the younger players in Boston’s system. However, acquiring a young winger who almost scored 40 goals in the AHL seems like a risk worth taking for a Bruins team that needs offensive help.
I don’t think you can blame Boston for bringing back Henri Jokiharju on a three-year contract worth $3 million a season, considering how rapidly the class of right-shot D free agents dried up.
There weren’t many good options for Boston this offseason with Jokiharju able to play regular minutes going ahead for the Bruins because Aaron Ekblad and Dante Fabbro were both returning to their current clubs.
The 26-year-old defenseman is reliable, if not very impressive, but he and Nikita Zadorov worked effectively together last season thanks to his puck-moving skills.
The Bruins actually outscored opponents 12–5 in the 17 games and 273:39 of 5-on-5 ice time that Zadorov and Jokiharju skated together last season, despite the fact that the defensive duo only made 32.6 percent of their on-ice starts in the offensive zone.
A second pairing of Zadorov and Jokiharju might be competitive if the Bruins wish to overstuff their top pairing with Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm playing together.
Since 2023, Conor Ryan has worked as a staff writer for Boston.com, covering the Boston Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox.
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