When the Bruins went into the offseason, the message from Don Sweeney and Cam Neely was clear: this roster needed more firepower for 2026-27 after Boston’s six-game first-round loss to the Buffalo Sabres in May.
A lot of people assumed that meant Boston would chase a top-six center. Instead, right before the 2026 NHL Entry Draft in Buffalo, Sweeney made a different kind of swing and brought in Utah Mammoth right winger JJ Peterka, who had arrived in Utah only one season earlier after being acquired from the Sabres the summer before.
That move has already put Peterka in the spotlight, and Sportsnet named him the Bruins’ biggest offseason addition. Given how little turnover Boston had elsewhere, that call makes sense. The Bruins also added defenseman Will Borgen from the New York Rangers and brought back blueliner Connor Clifton in free agency, but beyond that, the roster looks largely familiar aside from some additions from the American Hockey League.
Peterka’s arrival also pushed Viktor Arvidsson out the door before free agency, and Arvidsson eventually signed with the Detroit Red Wings. That opened the door for Peterka to settle into Boston’s top six, with the real question being whether he’d land on the first line or the second.
For now, he’s found a home on the top unit alongside David Pastrnak and Elias Lindholm, and the early results have been encouraging. In Boston’s season-opening 3-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night at TD Garden, the Bruins got a clean look at what Peterka can bring. After Fraser Minten gave Boston a 1-0 lead late in the third period, Peterka attacked the zone and finished with a move through the legs of Rangers defenseman Braden Schneider for an insurance goal.
The scoring track record is there, too. Peterka posted 28 goals with Buffalo in 2023-24, then followed that with 27 the next season.
Last year in 82 games for Utah, he finished with 25. If he can at least match that number for Boston, the Bruins will take it.
Boston gave up two first-round picks to land him, and there’s still a belief around the deal that Peterka can grow into a 30-goal scorer. If that happens, the price will look steep only in hindsight. For now, it’s off to a promising start for the second-round pick of Buffalo in the 2020 Entry Draft.
In Other News...
Bruins First Loss Exposed An Early Problem They Can't Keep Feeding
After opening the season with a spirited overtime win in Winnipeg, the Bruins ran into a much less forgiving night in their home opener against Minnesota. Boston had the kind of early lead it wanted, but the game quickly shifted once the second period got messy, with the Wild taking advantage of the Bruins discipline issues and turning a competitive start into a far tougher ask.
The larger concern for Boston is that the problems were not limited to the scoreboard. Shot selection and offensive execution were off, and in a back-to-back stretch like this, those details can decide whether a team grinds out points or hands them away. The Bruins have already shown they can win on energy and resilience, but their first loss of the season also served as a reminder that they cannot keep feeding opponents easy chances. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Hot Start Faces Its First Real Test In Net
The Bruins quick start now gets an early wrinkle in goal, with Michael DiPietro set to make his first start for Boston against the Wild. Marco Sturm made the call after DiPietro turned heads with his work in the minors and in preseason, giving the organization a chance to see how the depth chart holds up when the schedule starts to squeeze a little tighter.
Jeremy Swayman will get the night off after starting Fridays overtime win, and the rest of the lineup is expected to stay intact. For a team trying to keep momentum rolling, this is the kind of game that can say a lot about the Bruins goaltending picture without changing much else around it. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins First Loss Exposed An Early Problem They Couldnt Overcome
The Bruins first loss of the season arrived on the second night of a back-to-back, and it came with a familiar warning sign attached. Boston held up well at even strength against Minnesota, but special teams tilted the game the wrong way, turning a competitive night into a 3-1 defeat.
Michael DiPietro made his first start for Boston and gave the team a chance with 26 saves, but the Bruins could not find a way to cash in when the game tilted toward special teams play. Penalties became the difference, and for a team trying to establish its early-season identity, the margin for error quickly disappeared. [Read more 🡒]