We are almost three months into the off-season for the Boston Bruins as we enter August, which is typically a quiet month for the NHL. Training camp for the Black and Gold at Warrior Ice Arena will begin in late September with the regular season getting underway in early October in Sunrise against the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
It was been another busy off-season for GM Don Sweeney who saw some major subtractions from his roster that lost in May in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Panthers, while there were some key additions. Just how it all plays out remains to be seen, but as we enter the first full week of August, here are three winners and two losers from the Bruins off-season post-free agency.
Bruins Winners and Losers This Off-Season
Winner: Elias Lindholm
Sweeney got his man down the middle once free agency opened on July 1 when center Elias Lindholm agreed to a seven-year, $52.5 million contract with an AAV of $7.75 million. Since Patrice Bergeron retired last summer, Sweeney has been looking for that true No. 1 center and finally got him in Lindholm. David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, and others in the top six are all going to benefit from the former Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks pivot coming to Boston. Lindholm got the money he was looking for as well and is the big winner here with the Bruins.
Loser: Bruins Goaltending
As of now, the Bruins' goaltending is a lot weaker than it was last season. Linus Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators and as part of the return, Sweeney acquired struggling netminder Joonas Korpasilo and despite getting Ottawa to retain $1 million, Boston is on the hook for $3 million. Not a great return to say the least. Brandon Bussi is the only other goalie under contract right now while Jeremy Swayman remains unsigned, but the hope is that an agreement is reached before the season. Regardless, even when Swayman does sign, the Bruins' goaltending which was a strong point of the team for the last couple of years suddenly isn't.
Winner: Mason Lohrei
One under-the-radar winner this off-season for the Bruins is defenseman Mason Lohrei. When the Bruins moved on from Derek Forbort and Matt Grzelcyk on the left side of their defense this summer, they did so with Lohrei playing full-time next season in the NHL on their mind. Both players would have blocked him, but now the path is clear for him to secure a third-pairing spot on the left side.
Mason Lohrei goes up top for his first career playoff goal. 🚨 pic.twitter.com/mMQCPyoTL2
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) May 7, 2024
Late in the season and in the playoffs, he proved that he's more than ready to play on a nightly basis. He is a good puck-moving defenseman and plays a physical game with a ton of offensive upside that was on display last season. There is a lot to like about him playing full-time this season in Boston.
Loser: Bruins Second-Line Right Wing
It was very little surprise that Jake DeBrusk left in free agency to join the Canucks, but that leaves a hole on the wing in the top six and one that has yet to be filled. Sweeney did not have the money in free agency to address it and it looks like the Bruins are going to let a youngster from the Providence Bruins in the AHL, Fabian Lysell or Georgii Merkulov, battle it out in camp for that spot in the middle-six. Whoever gets it will be tasked with replacing DeBrusk's production, easier said than done.
Winner: Bruins Defense
Gone are Grzelcyk and Forbort and in is Nikita Zadorov on the left-side with Lohrei. This is a big upgrade for the Bruins with Zadorov providing a big physical presence in front of their goalies and a presence that they have been lacking for some time. When the playoffs come around, assuming the Black and Gold make it, they will be better equipped to handle the grind of the postseason on the backend as compared to previous seasons.
It's going to be an interesting training camp for the Bruins in September and early October with all the change that the team has gone through the last couple of months ahead of the 2024-25 season. Right now, the only priority on Sweeney's plate is getting Swayman under contract before the season begins.