It wasn’t a note-perfect autopsy of the Boston Bruins season, as it felt, at times, like there was a dollop too much optimism for a hockey team that got spanked on home ice all three times they played there in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
But credit to Don Sweeney and Cam Neely for at least acknowledging what everybody can see in terms of the overall talent level, the pace that this current Bruins team plays at, and the hard road ahead to ascend from playoff also-ran to a legitimate Stanley Cup contending club.
Basically, the Bruins aren’t there yet, and their brain trust is keenly aware of that despite putting together a 100-point regular season that surprised most people and underscored just how substandard some of the other teams are around the NHL these days.
“We got bounced in the first round. So yeah, we need more talent, we need more speed. That’s something that we have to try to acquire in one way, shape, or form,” said Neely during a 45-minute session with the assembled media at TD Garden on Wednesday afternoon. “You look at the elite teams in the league, we’re not there. When you strip it down like we did [a couple of years ago], you’re not going to be there in one season, so it’s going to take some time. What we accomplished this year, give the guys credit. But like I said early on, it’s building blocks [back to being a contender]. We’ve still got work to do to improve this club still.”
“We got bounced in the first round, so yeah we need more talent”🎙️
Cam Neely on the Bruins’ approach to the upcoming offseason 👀 pic.twitter.com/4Ahg46uSiU
— NESN (@NESN) May 6, 2026
That’s good news because the overall speed/skill disparity was very clear in the first-round playoff series against the Sabres, a six-game postseason series where the Bruins had trouble stopping the Sabres and experienced major issues generating anything around the Buffalo net in the final few games with Viktor Arvidsson on the sidelines.
With the promising, entertaining rebound season in the books, it’s clear that their goaltending situation with Vezina Trophy finalist Jeremy Swayman and backup Joonas Korpisalo is the stable strength of the team. In a perfect world, perhaps the Bruins could flip Korpisalo for a draft pick, save some cap space, and clear the decks for two-time AHL Goaltender of the Year Michael DiPietro to advance to the NHL level.
But it feels like playing with fire to mess with the clear strength of this Black-and-Gold unit right now.
“Obviously, Jeremy [Swayman] had a real bounce-back season. So fortunate that, albeit, he saw maybe some more high dangers [than we’d like], he was able to stop a lot of those and being a Vezina finalist, I think, points to that,” said Sweeney. “Joonas [Korpisalo] at times, really, really played well. He might not have the same consistency level and quality starts, that he acknowledged at the end of the year, but he stepped up at some really important times for us. We’re appreciative of both of those guys going in [to the offseason].”
Instead it’s more about finding significant upgrades on the back end and upfront where the Bruins could use another frontline top-4 defenseman after churning through Mason Lohrei, Jonathan Aspirot, Henri Jokiharju and Andrew Peeke among others in a top-4 spot this season, and they flatly admitted on Wednesday afternoon that they don’t have a No. 1 center right now despite paying Elias Lindholm big money to be that guy a couple of years ago in free agency.
“We all in this room recognize we don’t have a true number one [center], you know, and that’s something that we want to try to rectify, whether it’s this offseason or those guys growing into it,” said Neely. “But it’s something that we know that’s needed.
“We want to give these [young] guys [like Fraser Minten and James Hagens] every opportunity to take a job that’s staring at them.”
The question becomes ‘where are these significant hockey players coming from?’ if Minten doesn’t develop into a bona fide No. 1 center after showing some Patrice Bergeron-esque tendencies this season, or if 19-year-old Hagens becomes a player that’s more explosive and effective at the wing position rather than as a center.
Or if Mason Lohrei continues to be the inconsistent talent tease that had a great stretch in the middle of the season, playing a top 4 role as Hampus Lindholm’s right-side partner, but finished the season as a healthy scratch that Marco Sturm didn’t have confidence in as a difference-maker in those final few games against Buffalo.
The player certainly won’t be arriving in this summer’s 2026 NHL Draft as the Bruins won’t be getting a top 10 pick from the Maple Leafs, as they won the lottery with the No. 1 overall pick in the draft, and a clear shot at Gavin McKenna after a strong freshman season with Penn State.
The good news is that the Bruins have roughly $16 million in salary cap space and two UFAs, Viktor Arvidsson and Andrew Peeke, who the Bruins could very realistically upgrade from this summer. Tampa Bay defenseman Darren Raddysh is coming off 22 goals and 70 points in a breakout season on the Lightning back end for the 29-year-old player and could be an intriguing free agent target for the Black and Gold.
And Rasmus Andersson is still out there as a potential free agent target as he never signed a contract extension with the Vegas Golden Knights after heading there at the trade deadline, a player that the Bruins obviously had keen interest in after reportedly offering Lohrei, Matt Poitras, and a first-round pick for him while also ponying up big money for an eight-year contract extension as well.
The bad news on the center market is that there
