There are still two-plus months before the 2026-27 season begins, as well as training camps in September. There are a handful of teams around the league that are not likely done adding before the next season begins.
One of those teams is the Boston Bruins. If the current roster after free agency is going to be the one that they enter the season with, then there could be some regression in their future. If they can shore up one or two of their remaining needs, a right-shot defenseman and top-six center, well, that could change things.
If you're a Bruins fan and you're looking around at what other teams in the division have done so far, well, then you should be a little concerned. The Florida Panthers are going to get healthy and have reloaded, the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens aren't going anywhere, and neither is the Tampa Bay Lightning. That's half of the division, and NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast, placed the Bruins in a group that no team wants to be in going into a new season.
Elliotte Friedman drops the Bruins into a concerning group in early July
The Atlantic Division is going to be a bear in 2026-27 and that could be a problem for the Black and Gold.
"There's four really good teams there (in the Atlantic Division),'' said Friedman. "I think Ottawa's sort of, we're all curious to see how this goes, but they have a lot of talent. And you've got three teams (Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, and Toronto Maple Leafs) there that could go boom or bust. Like you just don't know what to expect.''
Read More: Elliotte Friedman said what Bruins fans wanted to hear about JJ Peterka trade
Boom or bust for the Boston Bruins? Stop me if you've heard that before, going into an NHL season. That seems like a yearly statement in the Don Sweeney era. Sure, there are some things that could be done to tweak the roster this month, but come August, well, that's what you're looking at for a potential Bruins roster entering training camp and the 2026-27 season.
Let's not forget that not everybody might be coming back happy. Reportedly, a player invoked their no-movement clause to block a trade with the Edmonton Oilers for left-shot defenseman Darnell Nurse. Training camp at Warrior Ice Arena should be a blast.
Add us as a preferred source on Google