The Boston Bruins lost their way in 2024-25 and the season turned out to be a disaster for the Original 6 team. The Bruins had been one of the NHL's most consistent teams for 17 seasons, but instead of finishing the regular season in one of the to three spots in the Atlantic Division, the Bruins fell all the way to last place in the division.
The Bruins lost two head coaches along the way and also traded their captain to the eventual Stanley Cup champions. After a poor start, the Bruins parted company with Jim Montgomery. He was replaced by interim coach Joe Sacco, who had been a long-time assistant with the team.
After a brief surge, the Bruins struggled to put the puck in the net and goaltender Jeremy Swayman never hit his stride. As the team approached the NHL trade deadline, general manager Don Sweeney and team president Cam Neely decided the Bruins were not going to be a playoff team and made a series of trades. The biggest one saw them send left wing Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers.
The Panthers had eliminated the Bruins from the playoffs in the two previous seasons and were generally hated by Bruins fans. Nevertheless, Marchand thrived with Florida in the playoffs and he contended for the Conn Smythe Trophy as Florida won the title for the second consecutive season
The Bruins are hoping for a return to playoff form in the upcoming season. While many of the NHL's top observers see the team struggling this year, the Bruins have the weapons to deliver a winning season.
David Pastrnak will have an explosive season and approach 60 goals
Much of the hope surrounds superstar right wing David Pastrnak, the team's top scorer. Pastrnak is the team's most important throwback to the team's glory years, as he played a major role when the Bruins went to the Stanley Cup Finals against the St. Louis Blues in 2019.
Pastrnak has already played 11 seasons with the Bruins and he has scored 391 goals and 442 points for 833 points in 756 career games.
He has scored 40 goals or more in five of the last six seasons. His last three seasons has seen him score 113, 110 and 106 points. He led the NHL and had a career-best 61 goals in 2022-23 and he has been an All-Star four times.
Pastrnak and defenseman Charlie McAvoy will be the team's veteran leaders and both players will need to have excellent seasons if the Bruins are going to make the playoffs. Both have the track record to become dominant leaders for the team.
Look for an All-Star season from Pastrnak and he should battle Toronto's Auston Matthews and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl for the league's goal-scoring title
If he can hold up his end, the Bruins have an excellent chance of building a much-improved offense in the upcoming season.
Jeremy Swayman will demonstrate that he is a top-5 NHL goalie
Swayman is coming off a nightmarish season for the Bruins. He engaged the team in a holdout during training camp and he didn't sign a new contract until a few days before the start of the season. His contentious negotiations with the team went public, and Neely ridiculed him at one point for not signing a significant offer.
He eventually signed an eight-year, $66 million contract with the Bruins, but he started the season poorly and was not able to turn things around.
Swayman finished the season with a 22-29-7 record and that included a 3.11 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.
The Bruins are hoping he can return to his top form. He had a 2.27 GAA in 2022-23 and a 2.53 GAA in 2023-24. In addition to the numbers, Swayman played with confidence and conveyed that to his teammates. New head coach Marco Sturm is expecting Swayman to come back to his best form, especially after he led the United States to a gold medal in the IIHF World Championships last spring.
Swayman was 7-0 in the tournament and he had a .921 save percentage. He is looking forward to getting a chance to redeem himself.
“That tournament for me, personally, was a great cap to a year that I wanted better from,” Swayman said, per the Boston Globe. “And to just let it all go and just play my game again, I found a lot.”
Bruins' defense will step up as team returns to postseason
McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are the Bruins' best defensemen. McAvoy suffered an injury and an infection in the 4 Nations Face-Off and did not play after that exiting tournament. Lindholm was injured early in the year and missed the majority of the season.
Both players will be healthy for training camp and if they can play a full season, the Bruins will be able to play the kind of shutdown defense that many observed during the team's winning years.
McAvoy could become an elite defenseman with a bit more offensive production, while Lindholm regularly flashes his skill but does not always play consistently.
The rest of the defense includes Nikita Zadorov, Henri Jokiharju, Mason Lohrei and Andrew Peeke, and that foursome is capable of providing support to Swayman.
The Bruins will be a playoff team, finishing no worse than third in the Atlantic Division.
