The Boston Bruins now have a clearer picture of what the 2026-27 season will look like, and the calendar opens with a familiar twist.
The NHL released the regular-season schedule last week, and each team will play 84 games in 2026-27. For Boston, the opener comes Sept. 29 at TD Garden against the New York Rangers. That game will bring former Bruins goalie Joonas Korpisalo back to Boston, while defenseman Will Borgen, acquired by the Black and Gold from the Rangers, will face his old team.
A week after the league dropped the schedule, the Bruins unveiled their theme nights for the upcoming season, and one date stands out above the rest. There are theme nights spread across the year, with at least one in every month except February, but Dec. 1 is the one fans will have circled.
That night, when the Colorado Avalanche come to town, will be Patrice Bergeron Number Retirement night, with No. 37 headed to the rafters. Bergeron will join fellow teammate Zdeno Chara, whose number was retired this past season.
Elsewhere around the league, Dallas settled one of the offseason’s biggest questions. Jason Robertson, the young Stars forward who had been the subject of trade speculation as a restricted free agent, is staying put.
After months of rumors about whether Dallas would move him or work out a new deal, Robertson signed a one-year, $12 million contract to remain with the Stars next season. The expectation is that he’ll be back in Dallas long term before that deal expires at the end of next June.
There’s also movement tied to Boston’s front office. Earlier this month, the Bruins announced they would part ways with assistant GM Evan Gold on Aug.
- Several possible destinations have been mentioned for him, including the Detroit Red Wings after Steve Yzerman stepped down.
On Wednesday, Mark Divver of New England Hockey Journal reported that Long Island, the likely landing spot with the New York Islanders, is another possibility for Gold.
In Other News...
Former Bruins First Round Pick Is Already Becoming Edmonton's Problem
Trent Frederics name is already showing up in an uncomfortable place for Edmonton, and it is the kind of reminder Bruins fans know well. Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic included the former Boston forward on his list of the 10 worst NHL contracts heading into the 2026-27 season, a notable turn for a player who once arrived in Boston as a first-round pick and later moved on to the Oilers.
Frederic has had a full season to settle into his new role in Edmonton, but the early returns have not done much to quiet the concern around the deal. He played 74 games last season with modest production and a negative plus-minus rating, and the contract already looks like the sort of commitment that can become a problem quickly if the on-ice impact does not rise to match it. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Goalie Situation Is More Crowded Than Most Fans Realize
The Bruins spent the offseason quietly widening the net in goal, adding to a pipeline that already stretches from the NHL roster down through college and Europe. Boston has brought in Simon Zajicek, Luke Cavallin, Max Lundgren and Jiri Patera, while also continuing to develop other options in the system, giving the organization a much deeper group than most fans probably realize.
Joonas Korpisalos departure on July 1 opened a lane on the depth chart and made Michael DiPietros path to the backup job look cleaner, but the picture is still bigger than one roster spot. The Bruins are also set to carry Kyle Chauvette as their emergency backup goalie this season, another sign that the club wants every layer covered as it heads into the year with confidence in the work being done by its goalie development group. [Read more 🡒]
Matt Poitras May Be The Bruins Breakout They Have Needed
Matt Poitras has already given the Bruins a glimpse of why they remain intrigued by his upside, even if the path has been uneven. After appearing in 33 games in each of his previous two seasons, he was limited to just three NHL games in 2025-26, a reminder that Boston still has not settled on exactly where he fits. When he has been in Providence, though, the offensive touch has been hard to miss, and that has kept him in the conversation as one of the organizations more interesting young forwards.
The Bruins are still looking for the kind of internal jump that can change the feel of a season, and Poitras is the sort of player who could help answer that need if the development keeps trending the right way. His AHL track record suggests there is more to unlock, and Boston is hoping that by 2026-27 he can grow into a regular top-nine role rather than remain a player the team shuttles in and out of the lineup. For now, the question is less about whether the talent is there and more about when the Bruins finally get enough of it at the NHL level. [Read more 🡒]