Boston Bruins
We predicted a playoff appearance for the Bruins in 2025-26, but there were plenty of whiffs as well.
Marco Sturm and the Bruins posted 100 points in the standings during the 2025-26 season. Barry Chin/The Boston Globe
The Boston Bruins largely exceeded expectations during Marco Sturm’s first year at the helm, going from a cellar-dweller in the Eastern Conference standings to 100 points and a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Boston still has plenty of work to do when it comes to taking another step as a legitimate contender, but few expected the Bruins to even be remotely close to the playoff picture this spring.
We’ll pat ourselves on the back for correctly predicting this Bruins club would punch its ticket to the playoffs in our “bold predictions” preseason piece back in October.
That being said, it was far from a perfect showing from yours truly when it comes to mapping out the various peaks and valleys that come with any given hockey season.
Here’s a look back at our bold predictions for the 2025-26 Bruins.
Jeremy Swayman bounces back
The verdict: Correct!
Some of our optimism in a Bruins resurgence this past season was rooted in the belief that Jeremy Swayman was far better than the .892 save percentage he submitted during a miserable 2024-25 campaign.
Sure enough, Swayman proved that last year’s struggles were an aberration — with the 27-year-old netminder earning a finalist nod for the Vezina Trophy. While Swayman’s baseline stats may not exactly leap off the page (.908 save percentage), they don’t paint the full picture of how Swayman routinely bailed out a porous Bruins defense.
Among qualified goalies this past season, Swayman ranked second in the NHL in goals saved above expected at 28.8.
Had it not been for Swayman, a retooling — and flawed — Bruins roster would likely be staring at another lottery pick this spring.
Boston leads the NHL in hits, penalty minutes
The verdict: Close, but no cigar.
Cam Neely’s declaration of the Bruins needing to operate with more “piss and vinegar” largely played out on the ice this past season — with bruisers like Tanner Jeannot, Nikita Zadorov, and Mark Kastelic landing plenty of welts out on the frozen sheet.
As expected, the Bruins were one of the more physical teams in the NHL, ranking second in the league in both total penalties (372) and penalty minutes per game (11.9).
In terms of hits doled out, the Bruins ranked sixth overall with 1,861 on the year, per MoneyPuck. While grit and snarl are often a sought-after component for contending clubs, it’s worth noting that three lottery teams in the Rangers (2,112), Panthers (2,024), and Maple Leafs (1,870) ranked first, second, and fifth in total hits this past year.
If the Bruins want to evolve, Neely stressed that the next order of business is to add some speed and skill to this roster over the summer.
Boston ranks in bottom third of 5v5 goals scored
The verdict: Yikes!
We were banking on a Swayman bounce-back. But we didn’t expect Boston’s 5-on-5 scoring to take such a major leap forward.
After ranking 23rd in the NHL in 5-on-5 tallies in 2024-25, the Bruins ranked eighth in that category this past year with 183 5-on-5 goals.
The Bruins had several players pull on the rope in the scoring department, with 10 different players tallying at least 10 goals and a whopping 18 players recording at least 15 total points.
One of the top surprises all season was the play of Boston’s second line of Pavel Zacha, Viktor Arvidsson, and Casey Mittelstadt. For all of the question marks regarding that trio’s upside, they were arguably one of the best lines in the NHL during the regular season, outscoring opponents, 42-22, in their 583:24 of 5-on-5 ice time.
Even with Boston’s uptick in scoring, the Bruins will need to steel themselves against some potential regression moving forward — especially with Arvidsson’s pending free-agent status and several players submitting career-best shooting percentages.
The Bruins’ top line combines for 101 goals
The verdict: Not quite.
All things considered, it was still a relatively productive season from two of the three featured players on Boston’s top line in David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie.
Even with extended scoring lulls, Geekie took another step forward as a legitimate top-six weapon with 39 goals in 81 games.
Morgan Geekie makes no mistake on the breakaway and buries his 38th 🐻
📺: Lightning 🆚 Bruins LIVE on SNW
📲: Stream on Sportsnet+ pic.twitter.com/3PWYl3wq2y
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 11, 2026
After tallying 30 or more goals in eight consecutive 82-game NHL seasons, Pastrnak only lit the lamp 29 times over 77 games in 2025-26. However, he more than made up for that dip in goal-scoring punch with 71 assists and his fourth-straight year with at least 100 points.
Elias Lindholm started strong (especially on the power play), but an ailing back limited him down the stretch. The veteran center scored 17 goals and 48 points over 69 games.
A bright spot down the stretch during Boston’s ugly 2024-25 campaign, the trio of Pastrnak, Lindholm, and Geekie couldn’t find much traction this past year.
In that line’s 347 minutes of 5-on-5 reps, the Bruins were actually outscored, 19-16.
Hampus Lindholm takes over as Boston’s power-play QB
The verdict: No help needed.
We tabbed more reps for Lindholm as a potential remedy for a Bruins power-play unit that only cashed in on 15.2 percent of its power-play bids in 2024-25 — ranking just 29th in the NHL.
Turns out, they didn’t need to shift their personnel all that much to get back on track.
Under assistant coach Steve Spott’s watch, the Bruins’ man advantage bounced back, finishing ninth in the league with a 23.4 percent success rate. Charlie McAvoy’s growth as a power-play QB played a key role in that resurgence, as he recorded a career-high 61 points over 69 games.
Even with Boston’s improved special-teams play, some additional tweaks will be needed entering the 2026-27 season — especially with the Bruins’ power-play production slumping down the stretch.
From Feb. 1 through the end of the regular season (27 total games), Boston only converted on 16.7 percent of its power plays — ranking 28th in the NHL over that stretch.
Mikey Eyssimont takes home 7th Player Award
The verdict: Brutal.
The Bruins’ plans of being a tougher out made the signing of Mikey Eysimmont a logical offseason move, given the 29-year-old forward’s agitating approach.
But, Eyssimont didn’t exactly move the needle on a Bruins roster that was chock full of scrappy bottom-six skaters. Eyssimont appeared in 56 total games for Boston in 2025-26 — regularly taking in games from the ninth floor as a depth option in Sturm’s lineup.
The Bruins had several deserving candidates for the 7th Player Award — an annual award voted on by fans for the player who exceeded expectations over the course of the season. This year, the honor went to 21-year-old Fraser Minten, who looked the part as a future lineup fixture while serving as a dependable, two-way pivot for Sturm over 82 games.
Points are impressive, but the two-way presence from Fraser Minten sets him aside from many young players. Minten, No. 93 in black, starts the breakout, gets in a shooting lane, hustles on the backcheck to break up an odd-man rush and skates the puck out of trouble. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/azcxUXXp4k
— Bruins Network (@BruinsNetwork) January 31, 2026
Bruins make a trade for scoring help
The verdict: Thankfully, I’m not an NHL GM.
We had the Bruins — seemingly hindered by a lack of scoring punch — pulling off a blockbuster deal for Colorado winger Martin Necas after he expressed a willingness to hit free agency this summer.
Instead, Necas signed an eight-year contract extension in Colorado in late October worth an average annual value of $11.5 million — with the speedy Czech forward potentially playing for a Stanley Cup in the coming weeks.
Even if Necas was an available target, the Bruins made the call to stand pat at the NHL’s 2026 trade deadline in March — a reversal from the previous season’s fire sale.
Boston might have overachieved this past year, but Sweeney’s decision to relinquish future assets for win-now players would have been a short-sighted move — especially given the gap between this retooling roster and some of the juggernauts still in the NHL playoff picture.
James Hagens earns a cup of coffee with the Bruins in the spring
The verdict: Just a decaf — but correct.
We set reasonable expectations for James Hagens going into his sophomore season at Boston College.
“Don’t expect Hagens to light the world on fire as he adjusts to the pro game over the final weeks of the regular season. But, Hagens’ speed and edge work offers hope that the Bruins have a legitimate top-six weapon for the future,” we noted in October.
Sure enough, Hagens showcased some of his upside across five total games with Boston (including three playoff bouts against Buffalo) after closing out his collegiate career at Chestnut Hill.
The 19-year-old forward still has plenty of room to grow entering his first full season in the NHL ranks. But, Hagens’ upside is evident when it comes to his playmaking capabilities and pace at hockey’s highest level.
The Bruins don’t name a captain this season
The verdict: Right on the money.
The Bruins — focusing more on resetting the standard and building a new culture with a reworked roster — opted to keep its current leadership hierarchy in place in 2025-26.
While Sturm had few qualms with Boston playing without a set captain this season, Neely acknowledged earlier this month that Boston has “started discussions” about stitching a “C” into a player’s sweater at some point before next season.
An early bold prediction for 2026-27? The captaincy goes to David Pastrnak.
Bruins sneak into the playoffs as the final Wild Card team
The verdict: Even better!
As miserable as last season was for Boston, the case for Boston fielding a competitive — albeit flawed — team wasn’t a huge stretch.
We had Boston bouncing back due to stout goaltending and stronger special-teams play — resulting in a 40-31-11 record and the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, the Bruins snagged the first Wild Card spot with a 45-27-10 record, equating to 100 points.
“It may not be an extended playoff run in 2025-26, but Sturm’s efforts to reset the standard this winter moves this franchise in the right direction,” we wrote this fall.
Boston still has plenty of work to do to ensure this past season was not an outlier.
But, we’ll give ourselves a stick tap for our initial projection.
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.
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