Boston Bruins
The Bruins still have more than $5 million in cap space, but Boston should focus more on giving reps to younger players on their retooling roster.
The Bruins would be wise to sign Fraser Minten to a long-term contract. AP Photo/Nick Wass
The Boston Bruins were busy on the first few days of the NHL offseason, adding players like JJ Peterka, Will Borgen, and Connor Clifton while moving on from Viktor Arvidsson, Andrew Peeke, and Joonas Korpisalo.
But with training camp less than a month away, a reworked Boston roster still feels like an unfinished product , as several segments of the Bruins’ depth chart are still encumbered with a glut of extra skaters.
As the summer starts to wind down and hockey season sits on the horizon, here are a few thoughts on the state of the Bruins.
Something’s got to give on log-jammed D corps
The Bruins will be significantly shorthanded on their blue line entering the 2026-27 season, with Charlie McAvoy suspended for six games after whacking Zach Benson with his stick in Boston’s season-ending Game 6 loss to Buffalo.
As such, it should come as little surprise that the Bruins are placing a premium on depth on D as they wait for their top blueliners to return. But as of right now, that means Boston is still set to open camp with 10 waiver-eligible defensemen on its roster: McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Will Borgen, Connor Clifton, Mason Lohrei, Jonathan Aspirot, Henri Jokiharju, Jordan Harris, and Frederic Brunet.
But, even with McAvoy’s absence for the first few weeks, the Bruins are looking at a scenario where multiple D-men are either sitting for extended stretches — or Boston outright loses a player like Brunet or Harris for nothing out on the waiver wire.
Injuries are inevitable over the course of a grueling NHL season, as MCAvoy can unfortunately attest to with his numerous trips to the dentist’s office over the last year.
Yet as of right now, Boston’s current personnel grouping on D feels like an untenable situation to carry through a full year — especially if guys like Lohrei and Jokiharju are going to be watching several games from the ninth floor of TD Garden.
That doesn’t serve a pair of players who, even with their warts, should be playing regularly in the NHL. And Boston also shouldn’t roadblock younger players like Aspirot or even a potential breakout player like Brunet with their current glut of D-men.
A trade or two feels inevitable between now and the start of the regular season.
Getting some clarity on contracts looms large for Bruins
Be it Macklin Celebrini making $18.8 million per year on an extension or the Penguins signing Ville Koivunen — a player with just seven points in 39 career games in the NHL — to an eight-year, $32 million extension this month, the fiscal landscape across the NHL is rapidly shifting.
As the NHL’s salary-cap ceiling continues to soar, the market is seemingly getting a reset every few months, with Boston’s long-term contracts in place with franchise stalwarts like David Pastrnak, McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman destined to age better and better over the next few years.
But, Boston still has some work to do when it comes to staying ahead of the curve with their cap and overall asset management.
Near the top of the list should be Boston hammering out a long-term extension for Fraser Minten, especially before the 22-year-old center’s value continues to rise with another full season under his belt.
Minten’s profile as a two-way, middle-six center might already be shifting after he scored 17 goals and 35 points over 82 games last season. Another season stapled next to David Pastrnak in a top-six role could see the youngster approach 50-plus points.
If that’s the case and the Bruins have a legitimate 2C on their roster, it’d be a prudent move for Boston to sign him a long-term deal ASAP — especially before the current CBA expires on Sept. 15 and teams can’t sign their own players to eight-year deals.
There might be some initial sticker shock if the Bruins can sign Minten long-term to a deal worth $5.5 – $7 million per year this fall. But it’s an investment that could quickly turn into a steal if Minten emerges as a franchise fixture for Boston in the coming years.
If they wait things out, Minten — who will be a restricted free agent after this season — could easily warrant $8-10 million per year when he’s due for a pay raise in the next few years.
If you think I’m kidding, wait until you see what 29-year-old Pavel Zacha might secure next season if he hits the open market — especially if he repeats his 30-goal, 65-point season from last year.
Boston should lean into youth instead of combing the bargain bin
Despite making numerous tweaks to their roster between late June and early July, the Bruins still have some wiggle room to make an upgrade or two this offseason — especially up front.
According to PuckPedia, the Bruins still have more than $5.3 million in cap space this summer, with several intriguing options still out on the open market like Vladimir Tarasenko, Eeli Tolvanen, Michael Bunting, and Patrik Laine.
Waiting things out after the free-agent feeding frenzy subsides to sign a veteran sniper to a short-term, affordable deal is a smart move for the Bruins. Well, the Bruins of yesteryear.
If we’re talking about the Patrice Bergeron-led Bruins roster that was desperately looking to put itself over the top? Then sure, signing a 34-year-old Tarasenko on a one-year deal makes sense as a middle-six sparkplug.
But, one of the top priorities for this retooling Bruins team in 2026-27 should be giving its burgeoning pipeline of young talent an extended runway to grow, succeed, fail, and hopefully thrive in the NHL ranks.
Rather than shore up spots on the depth chart with short-term investments, the Bruins should be giving those reps to the likes of James Hagens, Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov, and Matt Poitras in hopes they can find their respective footing at hockey’s highest level.
It’s a shift in philosophy for the Bruins when compared to their win-now efforts over the previous two decades. But, if Boston realistically wants to cash in on the final prime years of the Pastrnak-McAvoy-Swayman core, it’s going to need this wave of young talent to pull on the rope and develop into foundational pillars in the near future.
Boston shouldn’t kick can down road with naming a captain
On Monday, Cam Neely seemed to signal a willingness for Boston to not stitch the “C” on a player’s sweater for the second year in a row.
“I don’t know if you necessarily need to have a guy unless there is that one guy that really stands out,” Neely said Monday while appearing on the WEEI/NESN Jimmy Fund Radio-Telethon. “We’ve been blessed to have great captains here.
“From [Ray] Bourque, [Zdeno] Chara, [Patrice] Bergeron. We like leaders, not followers. So you can hopefully have 20 leaders. That’s the one thing that we look at: who is going to help lead the team? Maybe it’s more of a tradition in hockey where you have a letter on your sweater. Don [Sweeney], Marco, and I are going to sit down shortly to talk about that.”
Boston’s collective leadership core — led by David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy — did an admirable job navigating through a transitional year and welcoming in several newcomers to the Bruins’ dressing room.
A supporting group of veterans like Nikita Zadorov, Hampus Lindholm, and Sean Kuraly has also emerged, while other lineup regulars like Morgan Geekie have become more vocal.
But if Boston wants to take another collective step forward in its ongoing retool, it would serve the Bruins well to put a single player atop its leadership hierarchy — building a stable chain of command ahead of a continued influx of top young talent.
Both Pastrnak and McAvoy are deserving candidates. If we have a vote, we’re going with Pastrnak, whose lead-by-example production, durability, and growing voice (especially during Boston’s disastrous 2024-25 campaign) must be taken into account.
David Pastrnak didn’t mince words after that ugly start in Game 4 vs. Buffalo.
Good video from the Bruins’ latest episode of “Behind The B”. pic.twitter.com/DUP3elN4tI
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) May 8, 2026
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
