Should Bruins pursue Boxford native Chris Kreider?

Marco Sturm and his coaching staff already have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks when it comes to untangling several roster logjams across the Bruins’ depth chart during training camp.

Not only is Boston entering a fast-paced camp with 10 waiver-eligible defensemen, Sturm also needs to weigh both the desire to carve out featured roles for younger, promising forwards like James Hagens against other established NHLers who might be more on the roster bubble.

Those headaches could get worse — in some regard — if the Bruins suddenly find themselves in the sweepstakes for another proven middle-six veteran in Chris Kreider.

Kreider — a Boxford native and former Boston College standout who won two NCAA titles at Chestnut Hill — suddenly finds himself planted atop the free-agent market with training camps about to begin across the league.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted on Wednesday that the winger has “indicated he desires to return east, closer to family where he spent the first 13 years of his career.” Friedman added on his “32 Thoughts” podcast that a reunion with his hometown team could be a possibility​.

“I know there’s a lot of speculation about Boston,” Friedman said. “It makes a lot of sense. We’ll see on Thursday.”

If Kreider expresses an interest in signing with Boston — especially on an affordable deal — the Bruins would welcome such good fortune falling in their lap.

After all, it’s rare for legitimate top-six wings to be available this late into the offseason — with Kreider standing as one of the more consistent scorers of the last decade.​

In total, Kreider has reached the 20-goal mark 11 times in his career, including a 52-goal campaign in 2021-22 with New York.

Even with his 6-foot-3, 232-pound frame, Kreider has good speed — and has a proven track record as an effective netfront presence on the power play.

With Viktor Arvidsson leaving Boston in free agency, Kreider could be a potential upgrade at that netfront role — given how much emphasis Boston’s bench boss places on planting oneself near the crease. ​

“When your smallest guy, like Arvidsson, was [the one] most of the time around the net, that shows me that’s not going to help,” Sturm told The Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont earlier this month. “I think the big boys like [Tanner] Jeannot and [Mark] Kastelic, they tried really hard in the playoffs. So we have to do a better job. Absolutely.”

Boston could use Kreider’s added scoring punch, giving Sturm’s team another consistent goal-scorer after trading for JJ Peterka earlier this summer.

The Bruins also have $5.3 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), so they could either sign Kreider outright to an affordable deal or only need to move out a contract or two to accommodate the power forward.​

But who exactly stands to suffer from adding a proven player like Kreider might sway whether the Bruins enter this sweepstakes.

If the addition of Kreider prompts Boston to potentially move off a player on an expiring deal like Casey Mittelstadt, it’s a trade-off that the Bruins might be willing to make.

But a Bruins team that desperately needs to start giving some run to younger skaters like Hagens and Marat Khusnutdinov also might cut into those reps if Kreider occupies a set top-six spot for 2026-27 and potentially beyond.

Ultimately, it might come down to whether or not Kreider has his eyes set in Boston over other attractive East Coast destinations like Montreal or Carolina.

If that’s the case, the Bruins likely can’t say no to a player who can give them 25 or so goals on an agreeable deal.

But if the Bruins have to get into a bidding war for the Massachusetts product, a still-retooling Bruins roster might be better served continuing its ongoing youth movement.

 

Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.