The Bruins are heading into the 2026-27 season with Marco Sturm at the helm, and not everybody in camp is working with the same margin for error. For a handful of players, this year is less about settling in and more about proving they belong in Boston long term. If they don’t deliver, their time in the Black and Gold could be running short.
Mason Lohrei is one of the clearest examples. He’s entering his fourth season with the Bruins and, in a lot of ways, this feels like his make-or-break year.
Last season, he led the team at his position in assists, points, and power-play points, but he was also among the most inconsistent players at that spot. In 77 games, he set career highs with five goals, 28 assists and 33 points, but puck-handling issues and frequent turnovers led to multiple healthy scratches.
If he wants a fifth season with the team that drafted him in 2020, he’ll need a real breakout.
Matthew Poitras is in a similar spot, just with a different path. He’s had a few chances with Boston, but most of his time has come with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League.
The talent is there, and the Bruins know it. The problem has been translating that into steady NHL production.
Every time he’s been called up, he has tended to fade and wind up back down in Providence. Training camp is his chance to show he’s ready to stick, because if he doesn’t make a major impression, his run with the Bruins may be over.
Lukas Reichel also enters camp with pressure on him. Boston brought him in at the trade deadline, and he signed a one-year deal through the 2026-27 season.
In ten games with the Bruins after coming over from the Vancouver Canucks, the left winger posted one goal and two assists. That’s not enough to guarantee anything, so this camp matters.
He needs to prove he can be more than a depth option and beat out other players fighting for the same opportunity.
Casey Mittelstadt might be the most interesting name on the list, because his situation could go either way. He was an important piece of the top six last season, but the production never quite matched that role.
Now he’s in the final year of his contract, which means he’s playing for more than just his next shift. He has to show the Bruins he can be part of the long-term picture, especially with younger players pushing in behind him.
If he doesn’t produce, the reward may not be an extension - it could be a trade deadline move.
Then there’s Elias Lindholm, whose first season in Boston fell short of expectations. The Bruins brought him in with major hopes, but his production didn’t live up to the weight of his seven-year, $54.25 million contract.
Back issues slowed him for part of the season, but even with that context, his five-on-five play was well below what Boston needed. As the top center next to David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, he has not consistently driven the offense the way the Bruins expected.
And with James Hagens and Fraser Minten coming for his spot, the pressure only gets heavier.
For all five of these players, camp is the first test. They’ll need to survive that stage before they can even worry about the season itself. And for each of them, anything short of a big step forward could mean they’ve played their last game for the Bruins.
In Other News...
Bruins Suddenly Have A Backup Goalie Battle Behind Swayman
Joonas Korpisalos move to the New York Rangers left the Bruins with an open lane behind Jeremy Swayman, and it has quickly turned into one of the more interesting early camp questions for Boston. Michael DiPietro has put himself in position to claim the job after standing out in the AHL, and the organization now has a real decision to make on who will dress as the No. 2 goalie when the season begins.
Jiri Patera, signed recently to a two-way contract, adds another layer to the competition and gives Boston a second option to weigh against DiPietro. The Bruins are expected to use training camp to sort it out, which means the backup role is not likely to be handed out on reputation alone. For a team that wants stability behind Swayman, this is one of the quieter battles worth watching. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Marchand Update Brings Back A Tough Bruins Reality
Brad Marchands latest injury update landed with a familiar sting for Bruins fans, because it brings back an uncomfortable reminder of how much his body has been through in recent years. The veteran forward said he underwent surgery for a lower-body injury, and the issue is believed to involve both his hip and a sports hernia, two areas that can make even a routine return to form a drawn-out process. For a player who has long been at the center of Bostons identity, any medical update involving Marchand inevitably carries bigger significance than just one roster note.
The timing only adds to the uncertainty. Marchands recovery could keep him sidelined for about two months, which would put his status for Opening Night in doubt and leave another gap in a Bruins lineup that has already had to adapt to his absences before. He had double hip surgery in 2022, and while he remains a major figure in the rivalry picture between Boston and Florida, this latest setback is another tough reminder that the road back for an aging star is rarely straightforward. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Just Lost Three Prospects As One Future Question Lingers
Three Bruins prospects have now hit the end of their signing window, closing the book on a trio of different development paths the organization had been tracking. Philip Svedebck, Oskar Jellvik and Mason Langenbrunner are all unrestricted free agents, giving Boston one more reminder that prospect pipelines do not always stay intact from draft day to the point where an NHL job might finally come into view.
Svedebck still wants to keep his pro hockey career going in North America, while Jellvik has moved on to a new opportunity in Sweden and Langenbrunner has stepped away from the game to pursue business ventures. For the Bruins, the bigger question is the same one that always follows a stretch like this: which young players still fit into the long-term plan, and which ones are already headed somewhere else? [Read more 🡒]