With training camp for the 2026-27 season a little more than a month away, the Boston Bruins still have a roster with a few rough edges from past decisions. General manager Don Sweeney has made some moves this offseason, but nothing that has dramatically changed the picture just yet.
That leaves a handful of contracts looking especially heavy on the books, including deals Sweeney inherited and one that has already turned into a major swing-and-miss. Here are the three that stand out most for the Black and Gold heading into the new season.
Elias Lindholm is the one that keeps coming back to the front of the conversation. At the time, Sweeney’s thinking made sense, but the contract at an AAV of $7.75 million has become one of his bigger busts.
The back injuries Lindholm later dealt with were impossible to predict, but that doesn’t make the deal any easier to live with now. This is not the kind of contract the Bruins are going to move anytime soon, so the team is stuck riding it out and hoping for better days.
Henri Jokiharju is another one that looks messy once you zoom out. The Bruins didn’t make a bad move getting him from the Buffalo Sabres at the March 2025 deadline to help fill Brandon Carlo’s spot for the rest of that season.
The issue came after that, when Boston handed out a three-year extension carrying an AAV of $3 million. With plenty of blueliners on the roster for the upcoming season, Sweeney still has to sort out how to shuffle things around, but Jokiharju should be near the top of the list of players he tries to move.
Keeping $3 million tied up in a player who could be sitting in the press box for half the season is rough roster management.
Then there’s Casey Mittlestadt, another contract that came from outside the organization. Sweeney didn’t sign him himself; he took on the deal from the Colorado Avalanche in the Charlie Coyle trade at the March 2025 deadline.
The bigger piece Boston expects from that trade is prospect Will Zellers, who is on pace for a huge sophomore season at North Dakota. Mittlestadt is in the final year of his contract at an AAV of $5.75 million, and Colorado was clearly eager to move on.
He did play well on the second line last season alongside Pavel Zacha and Viktor Arvidsson, but with Arvidsson now gone in free agency to the Detroit Red Wings, Mittlestadt’s deal could end up quietly blocking some younger players from pushing onto the roster this season.
In Other News...
Bruins Are Making A Youth Bet Boston Fans Can't Ignore
Don Sweeneys latest move gave the Bruins a different kind of offseason jolt, with the trade for JJ Peterka signaling a willingness to reshape the roster without diving headfirst into the free-agent market. Even with some salary cap space still available, the expectation around Boston is that the front office may keep the checkbook mostly closed and instead lean into the players already in the system. For a team that has spent years balancing the urge to stay competitive with the need to reset on the fly, that is a meaningful shift in approach.
Steve Conroy has pointed to a youth-heavy path for the coming season, with Fraser Minten, Marat Khusnutdinov and James Hagens among the names that could matter more than they would have in a more veteran-minded summer. The Bruins are not done tinkering, but if more changes come, they may be the kind that happen through trades rather than a late free-agent splash. For Boston fans, the bigger story may be less about who is still available and more about which young players are trusted to take the next step. [Read more 🡒]
David Pastrnak Is Chasing A Bruins Legacy Few Ever Reach
David Pastrnak heads into the next Bruins season sitting in rare company, and the climb above him is starting to feel very real. He finished last year with 420 career goals, good for fifth on the franchise list, and the names just ahead of him are familiar ones from Bostons recent core: Brad Marchand at 422 and Patrice Bergeron at 427. With a productive start, Pastrnak could climb quickly and move into third place before long, adding another layer to what is already becoming one of the defining scoring runs in Bruins history.
The bigger picture is what makes this chase stand out. Johnny Bucyks franchise record of 545 goals has long seemed untouchable, but Pastrnaks pace has at least put that landmark into view if he keeps piling up goals year after year. For a player who has already helped define an era in Boston, the next step is less about milestones for their own sake and more about how far this run can carry him in the record book before his career is done. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Took A Different Offseason Path But One Question Remains
Bostons offseason has felt quieter than the usual July splash, but the Bruins have still been active in ways that matter. Rather than chase the top of the free-agent market, they leaned into a different route, adding Connor Clifton as their most notable signing while doing more of their roster reshaping through trades. The biggest moves brought in JJ Peterka and Will Borgen, a sign the front office was willing to prioritize fit and long-term structure over the kind of headline-grabbing spending spree fans often expect.
What makes the approach more interesting is the broader league backdrop, where contract prices keep climbing and teams are already looking ahead to the 2027 free-agent class. For the Bruins, the real question is whether this quieter path leaves them positioned to stay competitive now while keeping enough flexibility for what comes next. The roster has been rearranged, but the front office still has to prove the new mix adds up to more than a different kind of offseason story. [Read more 🡒]