Stop me if you have heard this before. The Boston Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney want to inject some youth into the lineup. He has, over the last couple of years, with Matthew Poitras and Mason Lohrei, found their way in and contributed.
We have been hearing that for the last couple of season's and aside from Poitras and Lohrei, it hasn't happened much. Fabian Lysell got some time late last season, and following the trade deadline, Fraser Minten, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the Brandon Carlo trade, impressed as a bottom-six center. Both players could make the case to be in the mix for a roster spot next season, but following the first couple of days of free agency, a roster spot isn't guaranteed for them in 2025-26.
Three Boston Bruins prospects risked being blocked in the NHL, again
Again, there were no home run signings by Sweeney in free agency, with the biggest move being a trade for Viktor Arvidsson, and there was a slew of depth moves for the most part by the Black and Gold. That doesn't spell good news for the youngsters.
Bringing in Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mikey Eyssimont fills three bottom-six spots, and with Mark Kastelic coming back along with John Beecher and Marat Khusnutdinov, there are going to be few spots for Minten, Poitras, and Lysell available. Another offseason where veterans brought in block younger players.
This happened a few years back, and the veteran signings were better than expected, and the Bruins had a season that extended into the playoffs, but this one feels different. They are banking on Morgan Geekie having another almost close repeat season he had this past season with 30-plus goals and Elias Lindholm bouncing back, and David Pastrnak continuing his scoring. Will that still be good enough to climb back into the Top 8 in the Eastern Conference?
As far as the younger players go, their route toward a spot in Boston next season got a lot tougher with a handful of signings by Boston on Tuesday. Who knows, maybe one or two of them will make it tough to be sent down to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), but staying with Boston is going to be more difficult this upcoming season.