On Thursday, the Boston Bruins were cleaning out their lockers and getting ready to depart their separate ways for the offseason much earlier than they had hoped and expected. For the first time in nine years, they will not be part of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a place that they are used to being.
It was a frustrating and disappointing campaign for the Black and Gold from the front office down to the locker room. Saying that this is a big offseason for general manager Don Sweeney would be a huge understatement. Whether it's through a trade or in free agency, there are sure to be additions and subtractions.
As is the case with every offseason for every team, there is change that is expected with roster turnover, and not every free agent can be brought back, restricted, or unrestricted. With that said, after the Bruins' season ended with a loss in overtime to the New Jersey Devils at the TD Garden on Tuesday night, here are five players who won’t be back in 2025-26.
Patrick Brown
A veteran forward who filled holes in the lineup when needed, Patrick Brown played in 15 games this season, picking up an assist. In two years since signing as a free agent in the summer of 2023, Brown spent most of his time in the organization the last two seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins, getting in just 26 NHL games in Boston.
Bringing Brown back, even to let the 32-year-old in the AHL, makes little sense. There are going to be some prospects that make the NHL roster next season, hopefully, and bringing back Brown would be blocking some younger players' development in Providence.
Parker Wotherspoon
The last couple of seasons, Parker Wotherspoon has been a serviceable seventh defenseman for the Bruins, filling in when needed. This season, he played a lot more as injuries on the backend piled up, and Brandon Carlo was traded at the deadline to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Wotherspoon plays a physical style, but if you’re going to get 55 games a year out of him, then you’re going to be in trouble. Again, a seventh defenseman is a perfect role for him, but asking to play more than half a season is a tall order.
Cole Koepke
One of a handful of bottom-six forwards signing last summer by Sweeney, Cole Koepke was a big piece of the Bruins fourth-line early in the season that carried them at times with Mark Kastelic and John Beecher, It seemed like in the first few weeks of the season, when the Black and Gold needed a big goal, they somehow scored it. Then as the law of averages do, it caught up with them.
Koepke is a grinder and plays hard, but the Bruins roster is flooded with those types of guys, and it didn't work out well for them this year running out that type of lineup. He should generate some free agent buzz and hook on with another organization.
Oliver Wahlstrom
Back in December, the New York Islanders placed struggling forward Oliver Wahlstrom on waivers, and Sweeney put in a claim and got him. The former first-round pick played in 27 games with two goals and two assists with the Islanders. If you thought he struggled with New York, it was even worse with the Black and Gold.
Sometimes a change of scenary does players good, but that wasn't the case with Wahlstrom. The 24-year-old had one goal and one assist with Boston, averaging 10:30 a night. He struggled with the Bruins, but has played much better with the P-Bruins. It was low-risk, high-reward move at the time and it proved to be a bust of a move for Sweeney, like all the other moves that were made in the last 12 months.
John Beecher
This would be a tough one, but with the large number of free agents the Bruins have and the amount of restricted free agents, not everyone is coming back. One player who is a restricted free agent and could not get an offer sheet is John Beecher. It would be surprising, but given the roster turnover needed to bounce-back next year, some hard decisions are going to have to be made.
Beecher has been a fourth-line forward who is playing his best when he's taking advantage of his speed. He has been a key penalty killer for the Bruins, and the 24-year-old had three goals and eight assists this season in 78 games. The 30th pick of the 2019 Entry Draft could be part of a group of bottom-six players that will move on.