Bruins' Free Agency Plans & Where Will Poitras Play Next Season?
Plus, how can the Bruins ensure that Jeremy Swayman is on the team next season?
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Bruins Must Realistically Factor Poitras Into Center Plans
May 26, 2024 by Brandon Share-Cohen
When the Boston Bruins enter training camp to prepare for the 2024-25 season, they’ll do so with 20-year-old Matt Poitras securely factored into their plans. This contrasts with how things went for the 2023-24 season when Poitras emerged as a dark horse to make the roster and turned into a virtual lock every night. As a right-shot center with legitimate offensive pop, Poitras could affect the way the Bruins approach acquisitions this offseason, especially if they view him as a potential top-six option in the near future.
2 Centers the Bruins Should Target in Free Agency
May 25, 2024 by Tommy Bennett
After what was a successful centennial season, the work for the Boston Bruins is only just beginning. General manager Don Sweeney has numerous key decisions to make and how he wants to go about constructing the roster for the 2024-25 season.
Sweeney and Cam Neely spoke to the media and addressed things they are seeking this summer. Sweeney said that he wants to look for players that can come in and provide secondary scoring. Furthermore, Neely identified adding more speed to the lineup. He went on to say what he wants to see out of this team next season, “But, yeah, maybe a little faster and we’d like to see a little bit more 50/50 puck battle wins. That’s an area where you have to want the puck more than the other team.” That’s a start with identifying the needs and what appears to be the focal point of the offseason. However, there is another area that could in fact be addressed.
The center position saw tremendous growth for the Bruins, as Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha both rose to the occasion. Together, they combined for 117 points and both set career highs for themselves. However, the team could look to upgrade and get a boost down the middle of the ice. Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast mentioned that the Bruins could look to bring in Vancouver Canucks center Elias Lindholm. Lindholm is a pending free agent and a player the Bruins could have interest in. But does it make sense and why is there a need for a center?
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Boston Bruins: 2 Reasons to Be Excited for 2024-25
May 24, 2024 by Ryan Ventura
The Boston Bruins’ 2023-24 season ended this past weekend after a Game 6 loss to the Florida Panthers. While disappointing, the second round exit may not have come as a surprise to many of their fans. For most of the season, the Bruins simply did not look like a team capable of winning a Stanley Cup. That said, the Boston faithful should be hopeful that their team will be better next season than they were this season. Here are a few reasons why.
Bruins Need to Pay Jeremy Swayman Whatever He Wants
May 24, 2024 by Hannah Garfield
With the Boston Bruins’ season officially done, it is safe to say that there was a clear MVP for them this year, especially when weighing in their postseason performance, and that is Jeremy Swayman. The 25-year-old had a great regular season in 2023-24 playing in tandem with Linus Ullmark, arguably the best duo in the NHL, but he took it to another level in the playoffs.
In terms of stats, Swayman appeared in 44 games during the regular season, posting a 2.53 goals-against average (GAA) and a .916 save percentage (below his career average of .919). He had a 25-10-8 record. In the playoffs, he started 12 of 13 games for the Bruins with a 2.15 GAA and .933 SV%. Beyond the numbers though, anyone who watched the games this season knows that he played a large factor in making this a competitive team. He bailed them out of regular season games that probably could have been a loss if the goaltending was not as excellent as it was, and he is the primary reason they were able to make it out of the first round this year after early exits in the past two.
Following his performance this season and given that the Bruins will have over $21 million in cap space this summer, general manager Don Sweeney and the rest of the front office should now have a vested interest in giving Swayman anything he wants for his next contract.
Chris Nilan & Mark Recchi: 2 Players on Both Sides of the Canadiens-Bruins Rivalry
May 23, 2024 by Karine Hains
A fan’s mind tends to remember only what it wants to. It will remember their favourite player’s hat trick, but not that one time when they scored in their net. It will remember their favourite goalie’s best saves, but not that one time when they left the net unmanned to handle a puck and that an unfortunate rebound off the boards sent the puck in the net. Similarly, it will remember a player’s time on their favourite team but will somehow delete the time that same player spent with another club. Here are two players who got to play on both sides of the classic Montreal Canadiens – Boston Bruins rivalry.
4 Bruins’ Offseason Targets to Address Goal-Scoring Struggles
May 22, 2024 by Tommy Bennett
The Boston Bruins’ centennial season is now over. As special as it was, it ended in a second-round series loss to the Florida Panthers. Although the Bruins defied expectations and performed better than anyone thought they would, the real work starts now.
With four teams still competing for the Stanley Cup, general manager Don Sweeney is in offseason mode. The Bruins have key decisions to make and money to spend. Questions surround a possible trade involving goaltender Linus Ullmark, but Sweeney’s priority should be goal-scoring.
For the second season in a row, David Pastrnak was the only Bruin to surpass the 30-goal mark. Also, the Bruins were 12th in goals for at five-on-five and 13th in all situations – that puts them in the middle of the pack, which isn’t bad but their second-round series show us they need an offensive boost. With $22 million to spend this summer, the Bruins should look to free agency to fill the void. Here are four targets that would fit in the Bruins’ budget.