Atlantic Division Preview: Bruins Looking to Brew More Regular Season Magic
Boston was supposed to have a down year in 2023-24 after some key departures, but ended up surprising people and almost winning the Atlantic Division. They're hoping to go a few steps further in 2025.
The Boston Bruins have won 112 games in the last two seasons, including an NHL record 65 in 2022-23, yet in those two years, they only won one playoff round. The 2022-23 Bruins stunningly lost in the first round after blowing a 3-1 series lead to Florida and the 2023-24 team nearly achieved the same feat, but managed to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 at TD Garden (some things never change do they?) for the first playoff series win in the Jim Montgomery Era. The funny thing is that the team that won a playoff series wasn’t supposed to win one that year as they had just lost their top two centers, Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, to retirement and didn’t have the cap space to replace them sufficiently. After what was supposed to be a down year, the Bruins are making a push to finally get the cup that they were supposed to get in 2023 and haven’t gotten since 2011. Head coach Jim Montgomery’s teams have always punched above their weight in the regular season in his two seasons in charge, but now Boston and their fans are hoping that that regular season success can finally translate into a deep playoff run.
Biggest Addition
The Bruins’ main hole in their lineup last year was the lack of a true top line center on their roster after the retirements of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in 2023. After a 2023-24 campaigns without a true number one center, the Bruins went out and signed the best center on the free agent market in Elias Lindholm to a massive contract (7 years, $54.25 million). Lindholm immediately fills the most pressing need for the Bruins and should perform very well on a top line with star wingers David Pastrnak (47 goals, 110 points) and Brad Marchand (29 goals, 67 points).
Biggest Subtraction
The Bruins had to make a difficult decision with their goaltending and chose to trade 2023 Vezina winner Linus Ullmark to the division rival Ottawa Senators to clear up some much needed cap space. The trade broke up arguably the best goalie tandem in the league and forces the Bruins to place more responsibility on to Jeremy Swayman, the remaining goalie from the tandem in Boston. Ullmark had a .923 save percentage over his three seasons in Boston and it certainly will be difficult for Joonas Korpisalo, who was acquired to be the Bruins backup, to match up to those numbers. Even if Swayman and Korpisalo prove to be a capable tandem, Boston will definitely miss Ullmark’s incredible goaltending as well as the famous goalie hugs.
Offense
The Bruins had a very strong offense last season, scoring 3.21 goals per game, which was extremely close to the top 10 teams in the league. It was led by David Pastrnak who scored 47 goals and had another 100-plus point season; Pastrnak remains the superstar around which Boston’s offense orbits. Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle both contributed over 20 goals (29 and 25 respectively), both showing some grace as they age as they remain key contributors to the Bruins’ offense. Elias Lindholm, the big free agent addition, had a down year in Calgary and Vancouver (44 points in 75 games) but should contribute a lot as the B’s top line center. Their depth forwards, like Trent Frederic (40 points), Pavel Zacha (59 points), and youngster Matthew Poitras (15 points in 33 games) proved to be very capable in their roles as well especially when considering that the offense was projected to be weak last season. One interesting name to watch is Justin Brazeau, who scored 7 points in 19 games and impressed in the Bruins playoff run after joining them in the middle of the season after impressing in their AHL affiliate.
Defense
The Bruins have a very deep defensive core, led by the brilliant pair of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm who are fantastic in puck possession and offensively (47 points and 26 points respectively), but do have the propensity to give the puck away when pressured by a hard forecheck (as seen in the playoffs). Nikita Zadorov was added in free agency (6 year, $30 million contract) after a strong season in Calgary and Vancouver, and combined with Brandon Carlo, forms a tall and defensively stout second pairing that are hard to play against and can withstand pressure from opposing forecheckers and is a good change of pace from the offensive puck-moving skills on the top pair. Andrew Peeke was added at the 2024 trade deadline after a dismal 63 games in Columbus and did take a step towards better play in 15 regular season games in Boston, where he seemed to fit in better with a lesser role on the third pair. There is an interesting young piece on the backend in Mason Lohrei, who played 41 NHL games in his first full pro season and impressed at times in the playoffs, showing an intriguing combination of size, strength, and puck-moving ability. Boston’s only real departures on the backend were Matt Grzelyck and veteran Kevin Shattenkirk, so the defensive group which allowed 2.70 goals per game (T-5th best in the league) looks to remain a strength for the Bruins once more.
Goaltending
Boston had arguably the best goaltending tandem in the NHL last year, but had to break up the band in order to augment their roster in other areas. The crease now fully belongs to Jeremy Swayman, who was 6th in the NHL in Goals Saved Above Average with 16.4, and 7th in the league with 0.43 Goals Saved Above Expected per 60. Swayman also finished 7th in Vezina voting last season and looks primed to truly break out as one of the NHL’s top netminders. As part of the return for dealing Linus Ullmark, Boston acquired Joonas Korpisalo, who struggled in his only season in Canada’s capital (3rd worst in the league in Goals Saved Above Expected with -20.79), but has shown ability in the past to be a more than capable goalie, especially when playing behind a good team (which he will be doing in Boston) and when he’s given more of a backup role rather than a starting role, as Korpisalo played 55 games in Ottawa, which was the first time in his career he’s ever played more than 40 games in a season. Should the Bruins need a third stringer, expect Brandon Bussi (.913 SV% in 41 games with AHL Providence) to get the call-up. Boston’s goaltending should remain near the top of the Atlantic Division, especially once Swayman signs his new contract and gets back into the swing of things.
Special Teams
Boston’s power play (22.2%- 14th in the league) was only slightly above average last year. Its linchpins in Pastrnak and McAvoy return and the addition of Elias Lindholm should help the top unit be more effective. Boston didn’t draw many penalties though; only earning 243 power play opportunities in 2023-24, only good enough for 20th in the league. Boston’s penalty kill (82.5%- 7th in the league) was a much stronger unit thanks to their strong goaltending and defensemen like Carlo and Hampus Lindholm. Nikita Zadorov, if he can carve out a role on the second PK unit, should make the unit even stronger. Boston does take a lot of penalties, conceding 268 power play opportunities (4th most in the league) and likely will want to draw more penalties to balance that out. Other than that, Boston’s special teams are in the top third of the league and should remain a strength thanks to their new additions.
Intangibles
Veteran leadership on this team is present in captain Brad Marchand and the well-traveled Swiss Army Knife middle six center Charlie Coyle. As a unit, Boston fights well together and works hard as a collective, which has been key in their ability to punch above their weight and perform above outside expectations. They do have strong physical players in the likes of Zadorov, Carlo, and John Beecher, so even though Boston does play a more puck possession-focused style, they still find ways to be hard to play against and they do have plenty of veteran experience, grit, and physicality throughout their lineups.
The Future
Boston hasn’t had a lot of high draft picks in recent years, so they’ve mostly been forced to find value in their later draft picks. Luckily, they seem to have some developmental pixie dust that they’ve used brilliantly to develop key depth players. The most recent recipients were a pair of former second round picks: Matt Poitras and Mason Lohrei. Jeremy Brazeau seems poised to be the next breakout after a strong half-season with the Bruins. 2021 first rounder Fabian Lysell hasn’t made his NHL debut yet, but had a strong campaign with AHL Providence last season and looks like he has a fantastic chance to secure an NHL roster spot this season. Their 2024 first rounder was used on Dean Letourneau, a massive center with strong skating ability who dominated at St. Andrew’s College who will be heading to Boston College for the 2024-25 season, with the upside to be a legitimate top six/top nine center. Even without high draft picks, Boston’s high-level development should keep them competitive in the years to come.
Coaching
Jim Montgomery has done a fantastic job in the regular season for the Bruins, coaching them to an NHL-record 65 wins and the Presidents’ Trophy in 2023 and a 47 win season in 2024 where they very nearly repeated as Atlantic Division Champions. The playoffs have been a different beast, but after beating Toronto in another Game 7, the Bruins did a really good job against the eventual champion Florida Panthers in the second round, taking them to six games and competing very hard even while they were admittedly over-matched. Montgomery has the buy-in from his players and knows how to get results out of them in the regular season. If he’s learned the right lessons from the 2024 playoffs, then Montgomery can definitely lead a team to a Stanley Cup.
Biggest Weakness
Center Depth: Boston’s center depth, especially at the top of their lineup, was their number one weakness last year, especially when Pavel Zacha was seen as the first line center at the start of last season. Bringing in Elias Lindholm does help with that, but he’s still far off from the level of players like Tampa’s Brayden Point, Toronto’s Auston Matthews, or Florida’s Aleksander Barkov. Charlie Coyle is solid, but like Lindholm, doesn’t measure up to the same standard as some of the other centers in the division. Matt Poitras looked decent early on last season before a long-term injury ended his season early and John Beecher only recently finished his first season where he was a legitimate NHL player. Boston isn’t terrible down the middle of the lineup, but is not as strong as the team’s they will be competing with for the Atlantic Division title.
Biggest Strength
Defense: As a unit, the Bruins’ defense might be the best in the division on paper. Their top pair of McAvoy and Lindholm is one of the best pairings in the division and is a fantastic puck possession, puck-moving unit that contributes very well in their own end as well. Nikita Zadorov and Brandon Carlo form a tall and physical second pairing that will do a great job of shutting down opposing offenses with a more old-school approach to the game. Mason Lohrei and Andrew Peeke round out the lineup with another tall pairing that can handle physical play, but provides a little bit more puck-moving ability and offensive instincts thanks to Lohrei, who showed some interesting potential in both of Boston’s playoff series. All in all, the Bruins defense is a very well-balanced unit that, on paper, is the most balanced and deepest unit in the Atlantic Division.
Season Outlook
Boston looks to be in prime position to win their second Atlantic Division title in two years thanks to Montgomery’s strong regular season coaching and their main competition each having their own hangups before this season (Florida will likely have a cup hangover at some point this season; Toronto will likely take some time to get used to new coach Craig Berube’s system; and Tampa lacks some of the elite depth that they had a few years ago). Regular season success is all well and good, but the main goal for the Bruins is a deep run in the playoffs, especially after only winning one playoff round in the past two seasons. After 2023-24 was supposed to be a ‘down’ year, the pressure is once again back on for the Bruins.
Standing Projection: 1st Place
Boston likely takes advantage of Florida’s cup hangover and Toronto’s adaptation to Craig Berube and seizes control of the Atlantic Division after missing out on the 2023-24 Atlantic title by a single point.
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