3 bold Boston Bruins predictions for 2024-25

Don't look now, but the 2024-25 NHL season is nearly here. Tuesday night, the Boston Bruins will be one of six teams opening the season when they play the Florida Panthers in Sunrise in the middle of three games.

Sunday, the Bruins officially signed Jeremy Swayman to lock up their future netminder, and signing him and getting him back will make them a legit contender in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference. With the puck to be dropped on a new season Tuesday night, here are three bold Bruins predictions for the upcoming season.

Mason Lohrei averages over 20 minutes a night

The time has come for Mason Lohrei to be a full-time NHL player. Last season, the former Ohio State defenseman played in 41 regular season games with four goals and 13 points, while averaging just under 17 minutes a night.

He played in the postseason in both series against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Panthers. He scored his first career playoff goal in the Bruins 5-1 Game 1 win over Florida in the second round. A third pairing with Andrew Peeke is perfect for him this season, but expect a bigger workload from head coach Jim Montgomery to push him over the 20-minute mark by the end of the season.

David Pastrnak scores 60 goals

Two years ago during the Bruins record-breaking regular season, David Pastrnak scored 61 goals and it was the first time he cracked 50 goals as well. Last season, he tallied 47 for the Black and Gold, which was impressive given the center issues Boston had after David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron retired the previous summer.

In free agency back in July, GM Don Sweeney signed center Elias Lindholm to a seven-year contract giving the Bruins a No. 1 pivot. A first line of Pavel Zacha, Lindholm, and Pastrnak could produce a lot of goals. The thinking here is that Pastrnak has a better season with a true center than he had last season and finds the back of the net 60-plus times.

Joonas Korpisalo has bounce-back season

The trade of Linus Ullmark was not surprising back in June, but what was surprising was the return that the Bruins got. They got a 2024 first-round draft pick, forward Mark Kastelic, and goalie Joonas Korpisalo. Coming off a disaster of a 2023-24 season, the Senators could wait to move on from Korpisalo and they even retained $1 million of his salary this season. Talk about a deal breaker.

Now Ottawa's headache is potentially one for the Bruins, but could he have a bounce-back season? Sweeney is banking on goalie coach Bob Essensa working his magic with Korpisalo to help him regain his form and serve as a serviceable backup. The one thing that the newest Bruin will have going for him with the Black and Gold that he didn't have for him last season is a better team in front of him. Talent can solve a lot of problems and hide a potential weakness. With Swayman signed, Korpisalo won't be asked to play a lot, but expect him to play better in Boston this season.

What does all this mean? Not a lot most likely. Aside from signing Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov in free agency, getting a deal done with Swayman before the season begins was huge for Sweeney and the front office. The 2024-25 season is back!