The Bruins are in that quiet stretch of summer where the phone lines aren’t exactly buzzing, but the roster still isn’t finished. Free agency has been open for two and a half weeks, the market has cooled off, and most front-office types are out of the office or on vacation.
That doesn’t mean nothing can happen. It just means the big moves are getting harder to find.
For Boston and general manager Don Sweeney, there’s still work left to do. The Bruins’ offseason additions so far haven’t done much to change the outlook from where they finished last season. If they’re going to make a meaningful addition now, it likely has to come via trade.
And that’s where two familiar names keep hanging around.
Pavel Zacha and Mason Lohrei are both still showing up on trade boards, including Bleacher Report’s latest list from Lyle Richardson. Zacha came in at No. 12, while Lohrei landed at No. 7.
The reasons they keep coming up are different. Zacha’s name is tied to the next contract question - whether Boston is willing to pay what it takes to keep him. Lohrei’s situation feels more like a fit issue, with his name repeatedly surfacing as a player who might benefit from a change of scenery.
If Zacha were going to be moved, the sense is that it probably would have happened already. Lohrei, though, still feels like a name that could be dealt before training camp opens in September, or even right after it begins.
That timeline matters because the Bruins still have decisions ahead before the NHL gets back to work. Training camps are coming in September, and the league is set to begin its 84-game schedule in late September. Boston opens at home on Sept. 29 against the New York Rangers.
So while the summer has gone quiet, the Bruins’ roster situation is still very much alive. And the question hanging over it all is whether Zacha and Lohrei are still wearing black and gold when the season starts.
In Other News...
Where Bruins Departures Ended Up Could Sting Fans Most
The Bruins roster churn has not just thinned out the depth chart, it has scattered a few familiar names to places that will keep Boston fans paying attention. Johnny Beecher landed with the Florida Panthers after earlier being lost on waivers to Calgary, Jeffrey Viel is headed to Tampa Bay, Vladislav Kolyachonok signed with New Jersey, and Victor Soderstrom is taking his next step in Switzerland with EHC Biel-Bienne. Even Michael Callahan found a new home in Tampa Bay, a reminder that the list of departures has stretched well beyond the obvious headline moves.
What makes the list sting is how many of those exits landed with teams Bruins fans already know they will see again, or in Soderstroms case, pushed a player well outside the NHL picture for now. Viktor Arvidsson is staying in the division with Detroit, and the Bruins also sent Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers, leaving Boston with less margin for error as it sorts through the consequences of all this turnover. The broader question is not just who left, but how much of a hit the Bruins took by letting so many useful pieces find new places to settle. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Camp Could Force A Roster Squeeze Fans Know Too Well
With training camp still less than two months away, the Bruins are already staring at the kind of roster math that usually makes September feel longer than it should. The club has a full 84-game schedule ahead, and after a summer in which several NHL teams have reshaped their own depth charts, Bostons attention is turning inward to how many forwards and defensemen can realistically fit once camp opens and the lineup picture starts to sharpen.
Marco Sturm and Don Sweeney are going to have some hard cuts to make by late September, because the Bruins look to have more NHL-caliber skaters than clean openings. A recent look at the opening-night group trimmed the depth chart down to four lines, three pairs and the extra skaters, which only underscores how crowded things could get if everyone arrives healthy and pushes for a job. The one area that appears relatively settled is in goal, but the bigger question for Boston is how the rest of the roster sorts itself out before the season gets here. [Read more 🡒]