The Boston Bruins are set for Opening Night, and the first look at their 2026-27 roster brings a familiar mix of proven names, new arrivals, and a few young players trying to carve out a bigger role.
Boston opens the season at home Tuesday against the New York Rangers at 8 p.m. at TD Garden, with the club carrying 13 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders on its official main roster. The group looks a lot like last season’s team, though there are some notable changes as the Bruins try to build on last year’s momentum and finally push past the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after back-to-back exits there.
Up front, the Bruins’ roster includes Mikey Eyssimont, Morgan Geekie, James Hagens, Tanner Jeannot, Mark Kastelic, Marat Khusnutdinov, Sean Kuraly, Elias Lindholm, Fraser Minten, Casey Mittelstadt, David Pastrnak, JJ Peterka and Pavel Zacha. Forward Matt Poitrason has been placed on injured reserve.
Peterka is the newest addition in that group, brought in from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft. Hagens, meanwhile, is still in the early part of his Bruins run after appearing in five games last season - the final two games of the regular season and then three playoff games against the Buffalo Sabres.
Geekie will try to carry over the best season of his career after scoring 39 goals. Pastrnak will wear the captain’s C this season after Boston went with alternate captains a year ago.
Mittelstadt and Elias Lindholm are also under the spotlight as they look to justify their price tags, while Lindholm is aiming to raise his production from last season. The younger players around them are expected to keep pushing.
Poitrason’s season start has been delayed by a lower-body injury he suffered during a practice session at training camp. He is on the Injured Non-Roster list.
On the back end, the Bruins list Jonathan Aspirot, Will Borgen, Frederic Brunet, Connor Clifton, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy and Nikita Zadorov. Borgen came over from the New York Rangers for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 third-round conditional pick in the NHL draft, while Clifton is back in Black and Gold after previously skating for Boston in 2022 before stints with the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.
The biggest early absence on defense is McAvoy, who will miss the first six games while serving a six-game suspension for the slash he delivered on Zach Benson during the playoffs. That puts added responsibility on Hampus Lindholm and Zadorov to anchor the group in the meantime.
In goal, Boston will open with Jeremy Swayman and Michael DiPietro. The move to DiPietro was expected, especially after the Bruins dealt Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers this offseason. After two seasons in the American Hockey League, DiPietro is finally getting his shot in the NHL, even if he begins as Swayman’s backup.
A projected Opening Night lineup has Peterka, Lindholm and Pastrnak on the top line, with Mittelstadt, Zacha and Geekie behind them. Hagens, Minten and Khusnutdinov could form the third line, while Jeannot, Kuraly and Kastelic round out the fourth.
On defense, the projection has Hampus Lindholm paired with Borgen, Zadorov with Clifton, and Aspirot with Lohrei. Brunet could also end up on the third pair, while Eyssimont may see time on the power play or penalty kill and could slide into the third or fourth line. The exact look for Tuesday night still has some room to change.
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Bruins Open Season Facing An Early Lineup Test Against The Rangers
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Charlie McAvoys six-game suspension leaves Boston shorthanded on the blue line, and Will Borgen is expected to slide into a major role alongside Hampus Lindholm right away. Jeremy Swayman is lined up to start in goal for the Bruins, while Igor Shesterkin is expected to go for New York, making the first night of the season as much about early stability as it is about the scoreboard. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Open With A Roster Tension Fans Can't Ignore
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Even with those changes, there is still a sense that the roster is not fully settled, which is part of what makes the early stretch worth watching. Peterka and rookie James Hagens are expected to help drive the scoring, but the bigger question for Boston is how the lineup holds together if the results do not come quickly, especially with several players already mentioned in trade speculation around the league. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Fans Have Every Right To Be Frustrated By This Center Plan
The Bruins are heading toward the 2026-27 season with an opening-night look that has plenty of people in the fan base scratching their heads. Recent practice work suggested Elias Lindholm could open as the top center between JJ Peterka and David Pastrnak, a configuration that speaks volumes about where Boston is trying to make its impact and where it still may be short. For a team that has spent time searching for a true answer down the middle, it is the kind of setup that invites immediate debate before the season even starts.
Don Sweeney has tried to frame the issue around overall depth rather than neat center labels, and that distinction matters because it hints at how the Bruins view Lindholm in the lineup. The problem is that the roster picture still leaves open the same old question about whether Boston has actually solved its need for a legitimate top-line center, or is simply arranging pieces until something better emerges. However the lines eventually settle, the early signs suggest this conversation is far from finished. [Read more 🡒]