When the Boston Bruins open training camp in September, the real intrigue won’t just be about who makes the team - it’ll be about which young players force their way into the conversation.
Boston opens the season on Sept. 29 against the New York Rangers at TD Garden, and there are already some obvious roster questions hanging over camp. The biggest one comes on defense, where Charlie McAvoy’s six-game suspension leaves a hole the Bruins have to fill. That creates an opening for a few players who might not have been penciled in for Opening Night when camp begins.
Matthew Poitras is one of them. He remains unsigned, but unless Boston swings a blockbuster deal to solve a need he can address, he’s not going anywhere.
The Bruins still haven’t settled their center depth, and there’s a real chance they’re looking at Poitras as part of that answer. He’s already done everything he can in the American Hockey League with the Providence Bruins, and sending him back there again would only slow his development.
If he’s still in the organization, expect him to have a strong camp.
Frederic Brunet is another name to watch, especially with McAvoy unavailable to start the year. Brunet has also checked the boxes in the AHL and looks ready for a third-pairing NHL role.
General manager Don Sweeney has plenty of defensemen on the roster, which means the Bruins will have some tough calls to make. If anyone is out of options and has to go through waivers, that could shape the final decision.
The idea here is simple: Brunet plays well enough to earn the job right out of camp.
Then there’s James Hagens, which might raise an eyebrow at first. But the Bruins have not exactly made a habit of handing prospects long runway after long runway.
Fraser Minten and Mason Lohrei have been exceptions, but Hagens may be good enough to break through anyway. After signing last April, he looked comfortable in a few regular-season games and a couple of playoff appearances against the Buffalo Sabres before being scratched at the end of that series.
He’s a center by trade, though Sturm used him on the wing in the spring, so camp should be interesting in terms of where he fits. Still, it feels like Boston is going to find a place for him.
In Other News...
As Bruins Stay Quiet, Another Trade Twist Grabs The NHL Spotlight
The Bruins have spent most of the summer on the sidelines, with their last roster move coming in early July while the conversation around the organization has centered more on the prospect pool and the goaltending pipeline than on any immediate additions. For a club trying to keep one eye on the future and another on the present, that kind of quiet can feel deliberate, even if the rest of the league keeps churning around it.
Around the NHL, though, the market is anything but still. Contract talks in Carolina and trade chatter involving Montreal and Calgary have kept front offices busy, and even New Jersey has had to answer questions about the long-term picture for Jack Hughes. Boston may not be in the middle of those talks, but with so much movement elsewhere, the Bruins' patience stands out just as much as any deal that gets done. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Suddenly Have A Bigger Question Behind Jeremy Swayman
The Bruins offseason shuffle behind Jeremy Swayman has put a familiar name back into the conversation, and Michael DiPietro has done plenty to make himself part of the discussion. After a strong season with AHL Providence, where he piled up back-to-back Goalie of the Year honors, DiPietro has emerged as the leading candidate to fill the next spot on Bostons NHL goalie depth chart.
For Boston, the question is less about whether DiPietro has earned another look and more about whether his AHL success can carry over when the games get faster and the margin for error shrinks. He has nothing left to prove in Providence, and the Bruins seem to be treating him like a possible backup option, but the real test is still ahead. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins May Finally Have An Answer For Their Biggest Blue Line Need
The Bruins still have a clear need on the right side of their blue line, and the search for a top-four defenseman has stretched deeper into the offseason. Don Sweeney has already explored bigger swings, including an unsuccessful push to land Darnell Nurse, but the market has not exactly offered a clean fix for a group that could use more stability and a little more balance.
So the focus may be shifting toward shorter-term answers, the kind of moves that can patch a hole without forcing Boston into a long commitment. Among the names floating around are John Klingberg and Logan Stanley, two unrestricted free agents who would bring different looks and different risks, but both fit the idea of a low-cost stopgap while the Bruins keep sorting out their defensive picture. [Read more 🡒]