The 2024-25 season did not go the way many Boston Bruins fans thought or hoped. Instead of being one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference, they never found sustained success. At the trade deadline, they were in 7th place in the Atlantic Division and were quickly fading from playoff contention. With the future looking bleak, the Bruins decided to be sellers at the deadline, trading away franchise icons like Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, and Charlie Coyle. All but waving the white flag on the season.
After missing the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season, fans hoped a busy offseason could get the team back into contention. While the Bruins were active this offseason, making ten moves on the first day of free agency, they weren't moves that changed things significantly. It did not do much to inspire confidence that 2024-25 was a one-year fluke.
The Bruins built a tough team to play, but not a team that can make the playoffs
If there is one thing the Florida Panthers' recent stretch of dominance has done, it has put an emphasis back on gritty physical play. While having stars like Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov helps, they would not have won back-to-back Cups without the grittiness of the bottom six. With the NHL being a copycat league, many teams are looking at the Panthers as the model they want to follow.
The Bruins are clearly one of the teams trying to replicate the Panthers' model. The emphasis of this offseason was to revamp the bottom six and turn it into two physical lines. That's what guys like Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Michael Eyssimont excel at. All three will give the Bruins that edge they were looking for. They'll make the Bruins one of the most aggressive teams in the league and a real pain to play against.
However, while grit is something teams need to be successful, it's not the be-all and end-all. You also have to be able to put the puck into the back of the net. Something the Bruins don't have a clear answer for right now. Sure, David Pastrnak should be a 100+ point player again, and Morgan Geekie should score 30-plus goals. But outside of that, there are a lot of questions about who can generate the offense.
Viktor Arvidsson is the only player they acquired who has any offensive upside. But even he comes with major question marks as his best days are behind him. He's coming off a season with the Oilers where he racked up 15 goals and 12 assists for 27 points in 67 games. One of the lowest totals of his career. It's hard to see him at 32 years old going back to the 60-point player he was back in the mid-2010s.
These offensive question marks will be what prevents the Bruins from making it back to the playoffs. While being a tough team to play against is good, it's not enough to overcome the lack of scoring. It's shaping up to be another loss season in Boston.