So far this offseason, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has checked off one box on his offseason to-do list. He addressed the Black and Gold's need to add depth scoring in the top-six after acquiring right wing JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth for two first-round picks.
As for the other two needs? Well, they really haven't been addressed. A right-shot defenseman and a top-six center are two areas that still need to be addressed. There was reportedly a trade in place to acquire right-shot blueliner Darnell Nurse from the Edmonton Oilers. However, a Boston player reportedly blocked a trade by not waiving their no-movement clause.
Joe Yerdon of Bleacher Report dropped his latest power rankings after the opening of free agency, and he has the Bruins at No. 16, but pointed out what a lot of Bruins fans have been saying: some moves have been curious.
Bleacher Report said out loud what a lot of Bruins fans have been wondering about some offseason moves
It's clear that the Bruins went all in to acquire Nurse, but it didn't work out after a report that a Boston player wouldn't waive their movement clause. The pivot? Will Borgen from the New York Rangers, well after they brought back former defenseman Connor Clifton.
"Adding J-J Peterka via trade at the draft was a bold move, but since then, the moves have been a bit curious. They acquired Will Borgen from the Rangers and sent Joonas Korpisalo to New York in a separate deal to promote Michael DiPietro from the AHL to back up Jeremy Swayman. Boston also brought back defenseman Connor Clifton in free agency. They reportedly took a run at Darnell Nurse but fell short, too. They're trying at least, right?,'' wrote Yerdon.
Peterka was a bold move, but one that Sweeney needed to make. There wasn't going to be anyone they drafted at No. 23 overall who would come in and make an impact as Peterka did in 2026-27. That's what Sweeney is doing, adding to a roster that needs to win now. As for Clifton, sure, that's a nice depth move, but nothing more at this point in his career.
Trading Korpisalo was something that needed to be done to both free up cap space and allow the Bruins to not risk losing Michael DiPietro in the fall to waivers if they tried to send him down to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Overall, to this point, it's been an underwhelming start to free agency and adding to the roster for next season for Sweeney, but there is still time to make necessary additions. We'll see if that ends up being the case. This really has been a curious offseason so far.
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