The Boston Bruins do not look like a legitimate Stanley Cup contender or even a playoff team this season. Most of the NHL's sharpest observers looked at the Bruins' last-place finish in the Atlantic Division last season and decided that the era of the team serving as a legitimate playoff team was over and they would finish well below the stronger teams in the Eastern Conference.
The Bruins have gotten off to a surprisingly sharp start after the first week of action in the 2025-26 regular season, winning three of their first four games. That does not mean that the critics were wrong, but there have been several encouraging signs under first-year head coach Marco Sturm.
Their most impressive game may have been their Monday afternoon 4-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. They got off to a brutal start, falling behind 3-0 and 4-1 before mounting a second-period comeback that allowed them to get within one goal. They pressed the action in the third period but were unable to score the tying goal against the previously winless Lightning.
Bruins need offensive help
The reason the game was impressive was the comparison with similar games a season ago. When the Bruins fell behind by more than a goal last year, a large percentage of those games slipped away and three-goal deficits marked the end of the competitive aspect of the game. The Bruins would lose touch with opponents on a regular basis. In this game, the Bruins got off to a slow start and the Lightning took advantage of struggling position play to score four early goals. However, the Bruins tightened up defensively and put pressure on their opponents with offensive opportunities.
So, there's a chance that the team may be better than has been expected. But the team will need help to get to the playoffs this year. They need to show much greater offensive strength than they have now. They need to pursue a trade for Colorado Avalanche forward Martin Necas.
Necas was acquired by the Avalanche last season in a trade that sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes. Necas has been a solid fit for the Avs since the trade, playing on a line with dominant Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen.
The 26-year-old Necas was a first-round pick by the Hurricanes in 2017 and he has established himself as a first-line player. He has scored 24 goals or more in three consecutive seasons, and he had a career-best 83 points in the 2024-25 season when he scored 27 goals and 56 assists.
He became a highly accomplished power play performer that year as he netted 12 goals with the man advantage.
Bruins' power play needs help
Adding a top power play performer is essential for Sturm and general manager Don Sweeney. The Bruins were brutal on the power play last year and while there appears to be more cohesiveness with the man advantage through the first four games, the production has not been there. The Bruins rank 23rd on the power play, scoring on 12.5 percent of their opportunities. They finished 29th in that area last season.
The Bruins have scored just two man-advantage goals thus far and that needs to change. The 6-3, 195-pound Necas has the size and strength to provide the B's with a more dangerous power play, one that scares opponents.
Necas is in the final season of a two-year, $13 million contract. He is likely to approach or exceed $10 million per season on his next deal. That may be too rich for the Avalanche at this point.
The Bruins need to make a move for Necas and then sign him to a longer-term deal shortly thereafter. The Bruins have a solid first line that includes superstar right wing David Pastrnak, center Elias Lindholm and left wing Morgan Geekie.
Necas could make the No. 2 line quite a bit more explosive than it is now. He could be slotted in at the right wing spot where he would play with center Casey Mittelstadt and left wing Pavel Zacha.
Additional players for Bruins to pursue
There are not guarantees that the Avs will trade Necas. Even if they do, the Bruins will almost certainly have to make the best offer of several teams to acquire him.
If Sweeney is not successful, he could possibly pursue Artemi Panarin of the New York Rangers or former Bruin Tyler Seguin of the Dallas Stars. Panarin is in the final year of his contract with the Broadway Blueshirts and Seguin could be a 25-goal scorer if he can stay healthy.
Both Panarin, 33, and Seguin, 34, are older players who may have each lost a step, but both have the skills to put the puck in the net and that's what the Bruins need at this point.
