The Boston Bruins had a nice run among the NHL's top teams.
From 2017-18 to 2023-24, the Bruins were consistently among the top 10 teams, reaching the Stanley Cup final in 2019, winning the Presidents' Trophy twice, and setting single-season records with 65 wins and 135 points in 2022-23.
However, it all unravelled quickly this season. They failed to suitably address the departures of core veterans, leaving them battling to remain in the wild-card race.
Management waved the white flag by the March 7 NHL trade deadline, shipping out Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Brandon Carlo and Trent Frederic. Those moves sent the Bruins to the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings for the first time since 1996-97, eliminating them from the 2025 post-season race.
The Bruins still have high-scoring superstar right winger David Pastrnak, stud defenseman Charlie McAvoy and starting goaltender Jeremy Swayman under long-term contracts. Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic believes they should build around that trio going forward.
Shinzawa cited the Washington Capitals as a template for Bruins management to stage a quick roster turnaround. They were trade deadline sellers two years ago but also made several notable additions over the past two years.
Those additions included center Pierre-Luc Dubois, defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin, and goaltender Logan Thompson. They have become key factors in the Capitals' surprising rise to the top of the Eastern Conference this season.
Appearing on Daily Faceoff last week, Ty Anderson of Boston's 98.5 The Sports Hub said he believed the Bruins could be aggressive in this summer's free-agent market.
Bruins And Predators' Free Fall Could Lead To Great NewsThe Boston Bruins are so bad right now that it may help them more than people think.
The Bruins have a projected salary-cap space of $27.1 million with 13 active roster players under contract for next season, with RFA Morgan Geekie as the only core player to be re-signed. They can afford to re-sign Geekie and their other five RFAs and have enough left to make a splash in this summer free-agent market.
Mitch Marner of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks, Nikolaj Ehlers of the Winnipeg Jets and Sam Bennett of the Florida Panthers are this summer's top potential UFAs.
Despite their cap room, the Bruins could face a bidding war with other teams for those players. They could consider the offer-sheet route in hopes of prying away a talented young RFA from another club. Targets could include Minnesota Wild center Marco Rossi, Toronto left winger Matthew Knies and Buffalo Sabres left winger JJ Peterka.
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