The Boston Bruins' 100th anniversary season is over. It was filled with much joy and celebration as they had an era night celebrating the history of the organization. One of the most memorable moments was when Stanley and his Cup winning team in 2011 were in this building and it was a wonderful trip down memory lane. But that ride was over, and the Bruins' season was over. Despite a strong push in Game 5 to take Game 6, the Bruins won a heartbreaking victory thanks to late heroics from Gustav Forsling. However, this season is far from a disappointment and shouldn't be viewed that way.
The Bruins lost cornerstone players Patrice Bergeron and David Kureishi to retirements, but also acquired a key player in Taylor Hall in a trade. Losing a key piece like this is hard to recover from, but the Bruins ultimately prevailed. This year, which seemed like a bridge, turned out to be much more than that.
General manager Don Sweeney signed a number of low-budget players, including Danton Heinen, James van Riemsdyk, Morgan Geekie, and Kevin Shattenkirk. For the most part, all of these played key roles in the Bruins' successful season, finishing second in the Atlantic Division with 109 points. But an important offseason awaits.
The Bruins have key players set to become free agents, but Sweeney will have $22 million available. But where does the team go from here and what should their priorities be heading into the summer? Let's dive in.
Lock up Jeremy Swayman
The transition from Tuukka Rask to the next line was smooth and easy. Although primarily used as a tandem, the Bruins have discovered who their goaltender of the future is. Jeremy Swayman has put an end to the question of who should be the number one goalie. This isn't to fool his good friend Linus Ullmark, but his performance this postseason has solidified his status as number one. Head coach Jim Montgomery chose not to use a tandem, and it's safe to say it paid off. Swayman started 12 games for the Bruins and posted a .933 save percentage (SV%). Additionally, he finished the postseason with two or fewer runs allowed in nine of his 12 starts. That's what you want from a No. 1 goalie, and he delivered. He is a top priority for the Bruins and should be the first contract they sign this offseason.
Given the state of the team and what the Bruins can accomplish with this core group, running with a young goaltender could give us years of competitiveness and Swayman's best years. He is also a goalie who is growing and developing each season. Here's what he's been up to every season since becoming a member of the Bruins.
2020-21
- 10 matches played (GP)
- .945 SV%
- 1.50 goals average (GAA)
- 5.6 goals saved (GSAx) better than expected
2021-22
- 41GP
- .914 SV%
- 2.41GAA
- 4.2 GSAx
2022-23
- 37GP
- .920 SV%
- 2.27GAA
- 24 GSAx
2023-24
- 43GP
- .916 SV%
- 2.53GAA
- 18.4 GSAx
The numbers speak for themselves and he deserves every penny. Plus, Boston feels like home to him. When he came off the ice for the last time, the fans showered him with love and after the game he said,
“I couldn’t be more grateful to have a home base and a city as supportive as Boston.”
Swayman is the present and the future and should be a top priority for Sweeney.
Explore Linus Ullmark's Deals
The next job should be within the other goaltender. While it would be great for the Bruins to have two No. 1 goaltenders, moving on from Ullmark seems like a likely scenario. For the second consecutive postseason, the Bruins used one goaltender throughout, but this time it wasn't Ullmark. That was no deception on his part, and he actually looked good in the only game he played in the playoff year. But that's just because Swayman was that good, and it was hard to justify eliminating him.
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Ullmark has been a consistent goaltender for the Bruins since signing in free agency. From 2021-2024, Ullmark appeared in 131 games and posted a .924 SV%, 2.28 GAA, and 49.37 GSAx. Furthermore, this player is the goalie who won the Vezina Trophy in the 2022-23 season, recorded the highest SV%, GAA, and also scored goals. He will be a hot commodity as the team searches for a No. 1 goaltender.
According to Kevin Weeks, Sweeney attempted to trade Ullmark at the trade deadline, but the deal was blocked due to geography, so it didn't go through. Ullmark will be subject to a no-trade clause with 15 teams when the 2024-25 season begins and he has one year left on his contract for $5 million. With teams like the New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings looking for goaltending help, Ullmark is an attractive addition. Sweeney has money to spend this summer, but moving a valuable goaltender to help upgrade the team is a likely scenario.
Add depth score
Head coach Jim Montgomery said this after the second round loss to the Panthers. In the postgame press conference, he said, “I didn't feel any frustration, but I felt a lack of ability to score throughout the playoffs.” You can't win every game 2-1. Seeing players such as Hall and winger Tyler Bertuzzi leave the team, questions arose about scoring ability and who would fill in in their absence. Suffice it to say, it's a problem, and it was noticeable in this series.
The Panthers are a strong defensive team and are good at suppressing shots, so they deserve credit for that. However, the Bruins were generally not the most offensive team even during the regular season. As a 5-on-5 team, they ranked 27th in shot attempts, 22nd in shots on goal and 13th in goals in all situations. They were in the middle of the pack in attack, with superstar winger David Pastrnak in charge.
Pastrnak has put together another great campaign, showing that the 2022-23 season is no fluke. He finished the season with 47 goals and 110 points. What is surprising is the depth score. No player other than Pastrnak has scored more than 30 goals in two consecutive seasons. The next closest player was captain Brad Marchand with 29 points. It was also the second season in which Pastrnak finished with a lead of more than 40 points over the next closest player. Simply put, the Bruins need more firepower on offense and can't rely solely on Pastrnak offensively.
The Bruins got great play from Marchand, Pavel Zasha, Charlie Coyle and others, but the playoffs were noticeably different and this team needed more than the 82-game sample size could provide. Sweeney is going to be busy and I'm going to put that on my priority list of things to do.
A crucial offseason awaits in Boston.
The 100th anniversary season was memorable and will never be forgotten. This team defied expectations, and young rookies like Matthew Poitras and Mason Lorey also emerged. They finished with 109 points and made the playoffs more than the previous two years.
There may be some points that need to be addressed or improved. Locking up Swayman should be a priority. The goalkeeper's hug was nice, but it's now clearer when to move on and if the team can get the extra points, things will be even better going forward.
