Beginning the 2025-26 season on Wednesday night against the Washington Capitals on the road, the Boston Bruins kick off a new campaign with many more questions than answers. The Caps, on the other hand, have very few questions facing them.
For the Bruins, it was an underwhelming offseason for general manager Don Sweeney, who didn't address his team's biggest needs of a top center and a scoring wing. Instead, he signed a slew of bottom-six forwards to make the Black and Gold tougher to play against and traded for Edmonton Oilers wing Viktor Arvidsson. Other than that, getting Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back healthy on defense were the best additions.
Playing in a loaded Atlantic Division again, Boston has the odds stacked against it in fighting for a playoff spot. They are predicted to finish near the bottom of the division in most projections, but ESPN didn't hesitate to bury them.
ESPN buries the Bruins in the standings for the 2025-26 season
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN released his preseason predictions of where each team is going to finish in the standings. He predicted that Boston would bring up the rear in the Atlantic Division and compared superstar David Pastrnak to a former star stuck on a cellar-dweller. Here is what Wyshynski wrote,
"I might be low on the Bruins here. If the defense corps is healthy in front of Jeremy Swayman, who had a proper training camp this time, they could grind out some wins for first-year coach Marco Sturm. And by "defense corps" we essentially mean Charlie McAvoy, who was limited to 50 games last season while posting his lowest points-per-60 minutes average in six seasons. But even a return to Norris contention for Charlie Mac isn't going to turn the tide for Boston, whose overall depth is that of a team which went on a selling spree at last season's trade deadline. David Pastrnak's now Ilya Kovalchuk on the Atlanta Thrashers: someone who's good for 50 goals and a 100-point pace no matter who surrounds him, but in service of a basement dweller."
It is not surprising that Wyshynski has the Bruins on the outside looking in when it comes to the postseason, but to bury them at the bottom of the division is somewhat surprising. Scoring is going to be a big question, as well as their center play. Placing Boston in the basement is surprising, and if that does indeed end up happening, changes are likely to abound following the season.
It might be time for Sweeney to step up and pull off a trade or two if he truly believes his team has a chance to sneak into the postseason.