Injuries played a role in the struggles of the 2024-25 Boston Bruins. There is no doubt about that. Factor in some underperforming players and you get a recipe for the type of season they had.
One position that was hit hard with injuries was along the defense. It started in November when Hampus Lindholm blocked a shot and ended up missing the rest of the season. Then, in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Charlie McAvoy was injured, and he, too, would not be seen again in a game for the Black and Gold.
That left more pressure on the rest of the defense to perform in their absence, and it forced some players to log more ice time than maybe the coaching staff wanted them to. By the end of the year, they were worn out. Going into the upcoming season, they are expected to be healthy, and one NHL analyst is bullish on them having a bounce-back season.
NHL analyst bullish on Bruins defense going into 2025-26
Travis Yost of TSN ranked all 32 teams' defenses into tiers for the upcoming season, and despite liking the Bruins' top-four, he had them ranked in the middle of the league in Tier 3. Here is what he wrote.
"Boston’s eyeing not one, but two notable injury returns on the blue line. The big one is Hampus Lindholm, whose fractured patella removed him from the lineup long-term. That put significantly more workload on star defender Charlie McAvoy who also went on to miss 32 games last year. Boston has a robust top-four and should see improvement at the position year-over-year with a return to full health."
The defense was not addressed this offseason by general manager Don Sweeney, who seems to think getting Lindholm and McAvoy back healthy is enough, and he might be right. Nikita Zadorov became a leader and a different player after the trade deadline, the player Boston was hoping they would be getting earlier in the season.
Trading for Henri Jokiharju at the deadline to replace the outgoing Brandon Carlo, who was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, turned out to be a move that worked well for Zadorov. In fact, it worked out so well that he was re-signed ahead of free agency. The return of Lindholm and Zadorov means that youngster Mason Lohrei can slide down to the third pairing, a perfect spot for him alongside Andrew Peeke.
There is no doubt that if and when healthy, the Bruins' defense should be much better in 2025-26, and honestly, it would be easy to see them in Tier 2, a place they could end up being at the end of the season.