Change is coming for the Boston Bruins this offseason. It is needed if general manager Don Sweeney has visions of his team making the Stanley Cup Playoffs again in 2026-27. The division and conference will get tougher, and who knows just how tough things will get after free agency and trades. The Atlantic Division will be a major gauntlet again.
The needs the Black and Gold have will likely have to be addressed through trades, as the free agent market is quietly losing some of the top players that could potentially be on the market. Here are three players who are under contract for next season who are unlikely to be back with Boston in 2026-27.
Mason Lohrei
One name that is already being rumored to be floated about this offseason is the Bruins young defenseman Mason Lohrei. He has one year remaining on his contract with an AAV of $3.2 million. This is something that could be attractive to a lot of teams that are looking for a young left-shot defenseman.
In two-plus seasons in the NHL, there certainly have been ups and downs for Lohrei. In 2024-25, he had five goals and 28 assists in 77 games, but he finished with a mind-blowing plus/minus of minus-43. That was on a team that finished in the basement of the Eastern Conference. This past season was better after he had seven goals and 19 assists in 73 games with a plus-17. He is a young defenseman who can lead a power play, and maybe a change of scenery might do him some good. If he is moved, it's likely to be part of a rather big deal.
Henri Jokiharju
Another defenseman, Henri Jokiharju, is on this list, and honestly, I'm not sure what Sweeney was doing re-signing him last summer. After being acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline in 2025, Sweeney inked him to a three-year contract with an AAV of $3 million. A big yikes.
He played in 41 games with two goals and 15 points. When he was in the lineup, he averaged just 17:48 a night. If you're making $3 million a season and only crack the lineup in half of the games, it's a problem. To compound matters, he was scratched on a defense that wasn't really good. He was scratched for four of the six playoff games against the Buffalo Sabres. It's time to cut ties and get what you can for him and move on from the $3 million. I know, easier said than done.
Joonas Korpisalo
This one feels like a rather no-brainer, but never say never with Sweeney. Boston is going to need all the cap space that it can create, and moving Joonas Korpisalo and his $3 million AAV is a good place to start. Talk about needing a fresh start somewhere else.
It's not like Korpisalo was bad, because he was more than a serviceable backup for Jeremy Swayman. However, the Bruins have Michael DiPietro in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins, who can replace Korpisalo's spot in Boston as Swayman's backup with a lot cheaper contract. The return wouldn't be great for Korpisalo, but moving on from him would benefit both parties.
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