We are under two months away from NHL teams reporting for training camps across the NHL, while the 84-game regular season gets underway in two months. For the Boston Bruins, they will kick off the 2026-27 campaign at home against the New York Rangers without defenseman Charlie McAvoy.
If there is one area that general manager Don Sweeney is stocking up on with players, it's on defense. Sweeney has made some additions in free agency and through a trade, but there have been no blueliners who have gone out to create a roster spot. Anyway, here are three contracts that the Bruins are going to regret having on the books next season, unless an unforeseen trade is made.
Alex Steeves
Signed last summer in free agency, forward Alex Steeves was a nice story early last season when he came up from the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL). He contributed early and even got a new contract, a two-year deal that carries an AAV of $1.625 million. That is going to be a deal that is going to tie up some cap space because Sweeney overreacted too quickly.
Steeves found himself as a healthy scratch as the season went on after he signed the deal, and then that trend continued in the playoffs against the Buffalo Sabres. Even though this is not a huge deal, it is a regrettable one, for sure.
Mike Eyssimont
I get the message that the Black and Gold's front office was trying to send last summer, but signing Mikey Eyssimont to a two-year deal was certainly an interesting decision. He was inked with an AAV of $1.45 million, but when it comes to playing time, see above with Steeves.
Eyssimont played in 56 games last season for first-year coach Marco Sturm with eight goals and 18 points. However, he played in just two of the six games against the Sabres. He is part of a long list of bottom-six forwards, mainly on the fourth line, that only has three spots on it. If Sweeney can dump him before camp, he should consider it.
Henri Jokiharju
There are some tough contracts to swallow. This one is just a bad one. Acquired at the trade deadline in March of 2025, Sweeney re-signed Henri Jokiharju on defense to a three-year contract with an AAV of $3 million. He was acquired to replace Brandon Carlo's roster spot after he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, but this is turning into a mistake.
Imagine having a defenseman making $3 million sitting half the season in the pressbox? That's Jokiharju. Out of all the names on this list, Jokiharju's contract could be considered the worst. A trade of a defenseman has to be coming, and you would think Jokiharju would be at the top of that list.
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