This offseason for Boston Bruins fans has been, well, underwhelming, to say the least. The moves have not been eye-opening in what most fans thought was going to be a more active offseason, after management made it clear after the first-round elimination at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres in six games that more talent was needed.
While general manager Don Sweeney has been fairly quiet, the rest of the Atlantic Division and the rest of the Eastern Conference have gotten better. The same can't be said for the Black and Gold. In fact, you could make the case that they are clearly in the bottom half of the division and will struggle to fight for a wild-card spot.
There is still time for Sweeney to make a move before training camp begins in September and even after the season begins, but Boston still needs a right-shot defenseman and a top-six center. They reportedly had a deal in place to acquire Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers, but it reportedly fell through when a Bruins player wouldn't waive his no-movement clause.
Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic ranked which NHL teams improved the most so far this summer, and it is not good news for the Bruins.
Bruins get bad news on the offseason so far
To quickly recap, the Bruins acquired JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round picks in June, and they acquired defenseman Will Borgen from the New York Rangers. They also signed Connor Clifton on defense. As far as players leaving, Viktor Arvidsson left in free agency for the Detroit Red Wings, and they traded goalie Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers. Luszczyszyn ranked the Black and Gold 17th with a statement that will frustrate fans.
"I think Peterka is a reasonable enough upgrade on Arvidsson that I’m a little surprised the Bruins end up closer to average. Ice-time shifts and other teams simply improving more are the main causes. The key takeaway: Boston will likely be bringing a similar quality roster to last year’s in a far more competitive Atlantic Division,'' wrote Luszczyszyn.
If Sweeney and the front office think running it back will get them back in the playoffs, well, they would be mistaken. Several teams in the East, including the Florida Panthers, made some moves to either get better or take the next step with a roster that is much better than the Bruins'. Boston needs to upgrade its roster if they want to return to the postseason in 2026-27.
