We are just under two months away from the puck dropping on the 2025-26 NHL season. As far as the Boston Bruins are concerned, this is a rather big season in terms of the Black and Gold retooling on the fly and getting back into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The jury is still out as to whether or not the Bruins and general manager Don Sweeney have done enough this offseason to get back into the top 8 in the Eastern Conference after finishing tied for last place with the Philadelphia Flyers. Have the Bruins done enough this offseason to get back into the postseason? One NHL writer doesn't think so.
Bleacher Report sells the Bruins making the playoffs next spring
Lyle Fitzsimmons of Bleacher Report wrote an article buying or selling each NHL Draft Lottery team making the postseason this upcoming season. He sold the Bruins, and honestly, you can't blame him. Here is what he wrote,
''It's hard to remember a steeper freefall than the one experienced lately by the Bruins, who racked up a league-leading 65 wins and 135 points in 2022-23 before tumbling to 33 wins and 76 points (tied for 27th overall) last season.
The problem is, it doesn't seem likely to reverse anytime soon. David Pastrnak is a bona fide star and Charlie McAvoy has been stellar when healthy, but they're not enough to stop the bleeding and Viktor Arvidsson isn't the kind of trade that will likely to be a game-changer.''
No, Arvidsson is not going to be a game-changer for the Bruins, but hopefully he plays and produces better than some people think he will, and Boston will need him to. Aside from that, Tanner Jeannot isn't going to move the needle, while getting Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm back on defense will help, but so will bounce-back seasons from Jeremy Swayman and Elias Lindholm.
All of that adds to a team that really hasn't made enough moves to climb back into the postseason picture. Of course, there is still time for additions to be made, but it feels like this is pretty much the club they'll roll out on opening night in what could be another long and cold winter in Boston.