The Bruins may have a Mason Lohrei problem on their hands, and the timing is awkward.
After the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Lohrei’s run with Boston took a hard turn. Marco Sturm no longer trusted the left-shot puck-moving defenseman and made him a healthy scratch, a rough ending for a player the Bruins badly needed to help move the puck out of their own zone. That postseason stretch raised the obvious question: if Lohrei couldn’t help then, when exactly was he going to?
His value is not where it used to be, and trading him right after the playoffs would have been a tough sell. But Boston’s blue line now has more bodies than jobs, which means someone is likely to be moved. Lohrei still carries offensive upside, and that gives the Bruins a possible path to a preseason deal before the new season starts.
One possible landing spot is Montreal. The Canadiens have only six defensemen signed for next season, and Arber Xhekaj still has not been signed.
Adam Engstrom is there as a possible answer on the left side if Xhekaj leaves, but Montreal may not want to lean on him that quickly. That concern only grows when you look at the rest of the left side, where oft-injured Kaiden Guhle and depth defender Jayden Struble make up two of the three left-shot options.
Lohrei could look redundant there because Montreal already has a good amount of puck-moving talent on its back end, but after missing out earlier in the offseason, the Canadiens have fewer ways to upgrade that side of the defense. If Boston puts him back on the market, the fit still makes sense.
Calgary is another team to watch. The Bruins avoided a major misstep when Rasmus Andersson chose not to sign a long-term extension there last season, after a reported trade to bring him in from the Flames had already been lined up before that snag stopped it.
The reported return in that deal included Lohrei and Matthew Poitras, so it would not be a surprise if Boston and Calgary revisited the conversation. For Lohrei, the Flames could offer a cleaner opportunity than he had in Boston, where he was under the spotlight while logging top-pair minutes with Charlie McAvoy.
And from a Bruins perspective, there’s another bonus: they would not have to watch a breakout season unfold in Montreal if Lohrei finally puts it together.
San Jose also fits the West Coast theory. The Sharks could give Lohrei a chance to develop alongside a young core while being sheltered by bigger defensemen around him.
San Jose began the offseason with only two NHL defenders under contract, then added Darnell Nurse, Jacob Trouba, and Michael Kesselring. That kind of setup could give Lohrei room to grow without being asked to carry too much too soon.
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