The Boston Bruins are hoping that last year's disastrous finish as the last-place team in the Atlantic Division was a one-off. The Bruins have been one of the most consistent teams in the league since 2008, but they fell apart last season. New head coach Marco Sturm is hoping he has the players and the strategy to return the team to its past glory in the 2025-26 season.
Most observers believe the Bruins are a long way from contention at this point. The team seems to lack the offensive thrust needed to compete with team like the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Toronto Maple Leafs. However, the Bruins have high-scoring David Pastrnak and dynamic Morgan Geekie to serve as the building blocks of the offense.
The Bruins have Jeremy Swayman in goal. At this point last year, Swayman was considered one of the top netminders in the league. However, he engaged in a holdout that lasted throughout training camp. He was not in form when the season started and he never found his best level.
The numbers reflected that Swayman had problems throughout the season. Swayman started 58 games for the Bruins and he finished the season with a 22-29-7 record. He allowed a league-worst 176 goals and that led to a 3.11 goals against average and an .892 save percentage.
That performance came a season after he appeared in the All-Star Game and two seasons after the Bruins won the Jennings Trophy for allowing the fewest goals in the league.
Swayman was 25-10-8 with a 2.53 GAA and a .916 save percentage in 2023-24 with 3 shutouts. He played well enough that the Bruins decided to make him their primary goaltender over former partner Linus Ullmark.
Swayman is heading into his sixth year in the league and he has 101-62-22 career record with a 2.58 GAA and a .910 save percentage.
The Bruins are counting on Swayman to get back to his best form if the team is going to get back to contender status. Sturm knows that Swayman is capable of turning things around. He led the U.S. to the IIHF gold medal at the conclusion of the regular season as he was undefeated in the tournament. As a result of that performance, Swayman is coming into the season with the confidence needed that he can return to his best form.
Defenseman Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm are healthy
One of the reasons that the Bruins gave up so many goals last year were key injuries to Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm. Boston lost its two best defensemen last year. Lindholm was injured early in the year and played in just 17 games last season. McAvoy was a stalwart for the U.S. team in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury along with an infection that prevented him from playing the final months of the season.
Both defenseman are healthy and anxious to help the Bruins get back to playing strong defensive hockey in the 2025-26 season.
If the Bruins are going to cut down on their goals against this season, general manager Don Sweeney and Sturm know that they can't simply depend on Swayman. They know their two best defenseman must come through with high-level performances. As long as both stay healthy, there's no reason to think they both won't perform well. McAvoy is a tough, physical blue liner with solid offensive skills, while Lindholm has the puck-handling talent to make a key offensive contribution in addition to his strong defensive work.
Just as it's not all on Swayman to key the defensive improvement, the blue liners also need help from the forwards. That's where the return of Sean Kuraly could pay a key dividend. He is an excellent defensive center who won 54.3 percent of his faceoffs last season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. When he was with the Bruins from 2016 through 2021, he also demonstrated that he could score some clutch goals in key situations.
