So the Stanley Cup finals are starting this week, and the Bruins are…not playing in them. With the season over, the draft lottery complete and the draft coming up pretty quickly it seems like a good time to evaluate where the Bruins are, while looking back at the season and looking ahead to next.

What went well last season:
A lot actually! The team largely overachieved and exceeded expectations set by writers, stat folks, and fans in general, and I include myself in that. Jeremy Swayman returned to form as one of the best goalies in the league, and is a finalist for the Vezina trophy awarded to the best goalie in the league. David Pastrnak remained in the top tier of players in the league, the second line of Pavel Zacha centering Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt was one of the most consistently good lines in the whole league, Morgan Geekie improved on his career best 33 goal season by potting 39, and in general the B’s were a tough team to play against.

Probably the best news is that several younger players including Marat Khusnutdinov, Alex Steeves, Jonathan Aspirot, and most notably Fraser Minten made real impacts through the season, some all season and some at various points.

What was supposed to be something of a rebuilding season after a frankly horrible, bordering on embarrassing 2024-2025 ended up as a 100 point season culminating in a first round playoff exit. It was a good season, with new coach Marco Sturm doing a damn decent job with the team, and big picture they stayed healthy.

What went not so well last season:
It wasn’t all sunshine and unicorn farts last season, besides the obvious first round playoff exit. The team was streaky to say the least, with losing streaks of 5, 6, and 6 games throughout the season and winning streaks as long as 6 and 7 games. They also took WAY too many penalties, ranking 2nd in the league in penalty minutes, and they weren’t great at covering that up, ranking 24th in the league in penalty killing.

Elias Lindholm certainly didn’t play up to his $7.75 million annual salary, Mason Lohrei struggled in Sturm’s D system and ended up as a healthy scratch in the playoffs, and the streakiness of the team was reflected in some players (including Morgan Geekie) having some prolonged scoring droughts.

The B’s had a real shot at getting the Toronto Maple Leafs 1st round pick this year as part of a great trade that sent Brandon Carlo there, and brought the pick and Minten back since it was only top 5 protected, and the leafs SUUCKED this year. BUT at the draft lottery the day after TML star Auston Matthews wouldn’t commit to staying long term the leafs converted their 8.5% chance and won the draft lottery, not rigged at all for sure….

What went “meh”:
The B’s were pretty close to middle of the pack in goals for and goals against which tracks with where they ended up. While there was some good in terms of the younger players, more was expected out of a crop of young players including Matt Poitras, Fabien Lysell, and Georgi Merkulov, who all spent most or all of the season in the AHL.

The aforementioned 2nd line being the best line on the team isn’t great, Tanner Jeanott and Mark Kastelic had great seasons on the 4th line, but there were too many games that the 4th line was the best line. Henri Jokiharu was up and down this season, and as he showed in the world championships he is capable of more than being a 7th D-man.

Pastrnak was much more of a playmaker last year which helped players like Geekie, but the team REALLY needs him to be the goal scoring leader, and use his incredible passing ability to open up his own shots as opposed to looking pass first.

Next Seasons Outlook:
Let’s start with the good stuff. James Hagens, the 7th overall pick last year, signed his entry level contact and has high expectations for the coming season. He can play wing or center, although he seems more comfortable at center despite where he played in his short time with the big boys at the end of the season. The Bruins have 16.44 million in cap space next season (h/t BruinsCapSpace) and really only have one pending UFA that they may want to keep in Viktor Arvidsson, and have some room to go after another shutdown D or another good center. They have a collection of young players that have the ability to make big jumps and become top 6 level contributors.

In terms of bad, they have a few players who are not playing up to their contract, and a couple of contracts that have potential to age poorly, and that could start at any time. The biggest concern currently is that the free agent market is narrow, so the few players that actually hit free agency are going to cost a fortune. There’s also the possibility that the young players don’t reach their potential.

There are some things that I think need to be done:
Trade Joonas Korpisalo if possible, and let Michael DiPietro handle backup duties. He was AHL goaltender of the year, and deserves a shot.
Resign Viktor Arvidsson, ideally on a 2-3 year contract.
Trade Mason Lohrei for whatever you can get, and sign a right shot D in free agency that better fits Sturm’s system.
Find another top 6 forward. There are plenty of players in the top 6 that can play multiple positions, so find the best player available.
Overall, the team SHOULD be better next season, a definite playoff team as a floor assuming reasonable health with a probable ceiling of a conference championship berth.