Boston Bruins
“We obtained bounced within the first spherical. So yeah, we want extra expertise. We’d like extra pace.”
Bruins CEO Charlie Jacobs, staff president Cam Neely, and common supervisor Don Sweeney addressed the media on Wednesday on the staff’s end-of-season press convention at TD Backyard.
“I really feel like we’re heading in the right direction in the direction of changing into an actual Stanley Cup contender sooner or later years,” Jacobs acknowledged in his opening handle.
Whereas the 2025-26 Bruins might need exceeded expectations in Marco Sturm’s first 12 months on the helm, Boston’s prime brass additionally acknowledged that there’s nonetheless loads of work to be executed if this staff plans to take one other step ahead in 2026-27.
Listed here are seven takeaways from Wednesday’s handle:
Extra pace and talent required
If the aim for the Bruins final summer time was to reset Boston’s tradition and add extra “piss and vinegar” to their lineup, the Bruins largely achieved mentioned aim with offseason pickups like Tanner Jeannot and veterans like Viktor Arvidsson and Sean Kuraly.
However even when a Boston depth chart plagued by bruising skaters like Jeannot, Nikita Zadorov, and Mark Kastelic doled out loads of harm on the ice, Neely acknowledged that Boston might want to shift gears this offseason with a purpose to add extra high-end talent to this group.
Even with David Pastrnak main the cost and potential for kids like James Hagens and Fraser Minten to construct their offensive skillsets, Boston is in determined want of extra pace and scoring punch, with a six-game playoff collection in opposition to a deeper Buffalo roster showcasing a number of the expertise hole between each golf equipment.
“Clearly, we obtained bounced within the first spherical. So yeah, we want extra expertise,” Neely mentioned. “We’d like extra pace. That’s one thing that now we have to attempt to purchase a method, form, or kind. However you have a look at the elite groups within the league, we’re not there.
“And like I mentioned two years in the past, once you strip it down like we did, you’re not going to be there in a single season. So it’s going to take a while. However what we achieved this 12 months, give the fellows credit score. However early on, it’s constructing blocks. So we’ve nonetheless obtained work to do to enhance this membership, nonetheless.”
A brand new captain?
Whereas Sturm acknowledged on Sunday that he had no qualms with Boston playing an entire season without a captain in place, Neely famous that discussions will proceed this offseason about stitching a “C” onto a participant’s sweater.
“I believe, clearly, we’d love to call a captain, however we’ve had some nice captains right here, so one of many issues that we need to do is make certain we’re choosing the right man, and Marco goes to be a giant a part of that,” Neely mentioned. “So having a brand new coach are available in and implementing a brand new system, attending to know the gamers, I believe it solely made sense to see how the season performed out.
“We’ve already began discussions about that, for positive, and we’re going to have loads extra on this offseason.”
Boston operated with a number of leaders of their locker room this previous season, led by alternate captains David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy.
“Management is a collective course of, and I believe we proved this 12 months that these guys took possession of it,” Sweeney mentioned. “We grew, they grew, and now you’re going to finally get to the purpose the place you’re feeling comfy that we’re going to have one other captain right here.”
The ready recreation with draft capital
The Bruins were dealt a bad hand during Tuesday’s NHL Draft Lottery. Getting into the drawing with over a 58 % probability of buying Toronto’s first-round decide (No. 6 or No. 7 general if it conveyed to Boston), the Bruins as an alternative noticed that draft decide get pushed to a possible unprotected 2028 choice.
To make issues worse, Toronto didn’t simply preserve their 2026 first-round decide — they outright gained the lottery. For the entire considerations in Toronto in regards to the Leafs heading towards a painful rebuild, getting a blue-chip expertise like Gavin McKenna may very well be simply what the Bruins’ Unique Six foe would possibly must orchestrate a retool on the fly, particularly if Auston Matthews sticks round.
Boston may presumably money in a few of these future belongings — be it prospects like Dean Letourneau and Will Zellers, its personal first-round picks for the following few years, that future Toronto first-rounder, and a Florida 2028 first — for instant returns.
However Sweeney acknowledged that Boston might want to toe the road between serving to out this present core whereas not limiting Boston’s long-term future because it builds round children like Minten and Hagens.
“If which means we use the belongings of what you represented, all [of] the 2028 draft, or is it one push to [2027]? That’s nonetheless to be decided to a point,” Sweeney mentioned of the choices on the desk. “The ping pong balls dictated that it wasn’t going to be this 12 months, so now we have to have all the pieces in play when it comes to how we proceed to enhance our membership, and now we have that mindset.
“We didn’t sit again final 12 months and say, ‘This can be a five-year course of.’ We simply mentioned we have to assault these areas.”
Even when Boston could not have an urge for food for utterly draining its prospect pool after refilling it over the past two years, Sweeney might want to discover a steadiness this summer time when it comes to each fostering Boston’s prospect pipeline and including influence expertise to the 2026-27 roster.
These dueling roster ideologies got here to the forefront after David Pastrnak acknowledged on Friday that he’s not getting youthful getting into his age-30 season.
Sweeney had qualms with Pastrnak’s feedback — and the urgency that his commentary would possibly spark for a Bruins staff attempting to construct a sustainable contender.
“I applaud David within the sense of asking for instant assist,” Sweeneu mentioned. “I’d say 10 years in the past, when he was working his manner into our lineup, perhaps [Patrice] Bergeron, [Zdeno] Chara mentioned, ‘How good is that this younger man?’ “We’d say the identical factor about Fraser Minten and [Marat Khusnutdinov] and James Hagens, so [it’s] going to require some persistence.
“All of us alluded to that final 12 months, that we wanted to get again to [being] a deeper, skill-based [team] and including pace to our membership. I like the aggressive nature of what that remark represents when it comes to him wanting [help]. … That’s a reactionary remark from a extremely high-level, aggressive star participant within the Nationwide Hockey League, and he’s not unsuitable within the sense that we want to speed up after we can.”
Dwelling-ice struggles
For the entire potential that Boston confirmed this season, their spectacular report on house ice through the common season (29-11-1) didn’t translate to the playoffs, as Boston dropped all three of its postseason video games in opposition to Buffalo at TD Backyard.
“We left it on the desk when it comes to not making the most of the state of affairs at house for sure,” Sweeney mentioned. “And our gamers are perplexed or disillusioned that they weren’t ready to try this, and particularly the best way we performed through the course of the season.”
Since 2023, the Bruins are simply 3-10 in playoff video games at TD Backyard — and are actually mired in a six-game shedding streak in these video games. Boston’s final playoff win was a Recreation 7 additional time winner in opposition to the Maple Leafs on Might 4, 2024.
“Disappointing the best way we performed at house within the playoffs, can’t skate round that,” Neely mentioned. “Our house regular-season report was excellent. For no matter cause, we couldn’t make it occur within the playoffs, in order that’s on us.
“We’ve obtained to grasp that just a little bit higher, however the expertise that a number of the gamers obtained that hadn’t had playoff hockey is invaluable, so we’re grateful for that, however we do understand that there’s much more work to do.”
The other way up the center
Despite the fact that the Bruins have some work to do that offseason with regards to including expertise to this present core, Neely famous that Boston may have two potential influence facilities already within the pipeline with Minten and Hagens.
“I believe they each have that talent set,” Neely mentioned when requested if the duo has the upside of top-line facilities. “They’re each just a little totally different gamers. One’s extra like Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] so far as a 200-foot participant and perhaps [doesn’t] see the ice in addition to Hagens does.
“Hagens’ head is up on a regular basis, he’s continually trying to distribute. … Whether or not they both turn out to be primary facilities is as much as them and the way that goes for them and what the trail is for them. You realize, we need to give these guys each alternative to take a job that’s looking at them.”
Free pucks
- Don Sweeney mentioned that he’s had conversations with each of Boston’s pending unrestricted free brokers, Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke, a couple of potential return. Boston at present has just a little over $16 million in cap house getting into the offseason.
- “I had conversations with, specifically, with Andrew’s agent a lot of the 12 months,” Sweeney mentioned. “When it comes to update-wise, I instructed Arvi the identical factor: I’ll get to work on on what their positions are actually that the season has ended and we’ll discover whether or not or not we are able to convey both or each again.”
- Sweeney confirmed that not one of the gamers on the Bruins’ roster want offseason surgical procedures — past a bit extra dental work for Charlie McAvoy. Nikita Zadorov — who tore his MCL in Recreation 3 vs. Buffalo — gained’t must go below the knife with a purpose to right the knee damage.
- Boston could have six gamers collaborating within the upcoming 2026 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship in Switzerland later this month: James Hagens (USA), Mason Lohrei (USA), Sean Kuraly (USA), Fraser Minten (Canada), Joonas Korpisalo (Finland), and Henri Jokiharju (Finland).
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