It has been widely said that the Boston Bruins have multiple needs going into the 2026-27 season. One of those needs is a top-six center and a wing. They also need a top-four right-shot defenseman to potentially pair with Charlie McAvoy.
All easier said than done. General manager Don Sweeney appeared to fill the need for a forward on Draft night. Right before the draft began, the Bruins acquired JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round draft picks.
That could be a good move, but it doesn't address the glaring need down the middle. The longer Sweeney goes without addressing it, the longer it appears that the front office is hoping to have one of the younger centers either win that spot or hope that Elias Lindholm or Pavel Zacha, if neither is traded, can handle it.
Boston still has work to do, and Erik Beaston of Bleacher Report predicted that the Bruins will sign a veteran forward for scoring depth.
Bruins predicted to sign Vladimir Tarasenko in free agency
Peterka fills a top-six need on the wing for the Bruins, but Vladimir Tarasenko is still available, and Beaston predicted that he would sign with either Boston or Edmonton. He is not the gifted goal-scorer he was earlier in his career, but the 34-year-old is coming off one of his better seasons in 2025-26 with the Minnesota Wild.
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In 75 regular-season games, he had 23 goals and 24 assists for a Wild team that finished third in the daunting Central Division and knocked off the Dallas Stars in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They pushed the Colorado Avalanche in the second round before being bounced. In 11 postseason games, he had two goals and five points.
"The 34-year-old is a great puck handler and possesses an elite shot. He is not the player he was with the St. Louis Blues earlier in his career, but he is still a talented right winger who can benefit any team that decides to pay his asking price,'' Beaston wrote.
So here's the thing: the Bruins could use another middle-six goal-scorer, but would Sweeney meet Tarasenko's asking price? This could go down the path of Tarasenko weighing a handful of options and waiting for the right one. Along with the Bruins and Oilers, the New Jersey Devils were another team linked to him by Beaston. Tarasenko doesn't address the center need, but he would be scoring depth, something a team like the Black and Gold could never have enough of.
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