File this under, “It’s hard to believe”, but we are one week away from the Boston Bruins opening the 2024-25 season against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers on the road. Yes, that’s right, the Bruins get to watch the team that has eliminated them from the postseason the last two seasons, raise their banner.
Monday, Boston’s management met with the media, and Joonas Korpisalo, acquired from the Ottawa Senators as part of the Linus Ullmark trade, will begin the season as their No. 1 goalie. Prospect Brandon Bussi will likely back him up with Jeremy Swayman still without a contract. Now that we are a week away from the beginning of the regular season, here is a prediction for the Black and Gold’s opening night roster.
Predicting Bruins Opening Night Roster
Sunday the Bruins made a big round of cuts down to the Providence Bruins in the AHL with Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov headlining the list. They both could be back up at some point, but with the way things stand now, here is a shot at predicting the roster for next Tuesday night.
Bruins Forwards
Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
|---|---|---|
Pavel Zacha | Elias Lindholm | David Pastrnak |
Brad Marchand | Charlie Coyle | Matthew Poitras |
Trent Frederic | Morgan Geekie | Justin Brazeau |
Max Jones | John Beecher | Mark Kastelic |
Bruins Defensemen
Left Defense | Right Defense |
|---|---|
Nikita Zadorov | Charlie McAvoy |
Hampus Lindholm | Brandon Carlo |
Mason Lohrei | Andrew Peeke |
Bruins Goalies
Netminder |
|---|
Joonas Korpisalo, Brandon Bussi |
You might say that this is a pretty straightforward roster, but it's hard to see it going another way. Expect Tyler Johnson to be signed to a contract eventually as it seems that the coaching staff has liked what he has brought. Sending Lysell and Merkulov to Providence on Sunday makes that seem like a real possibility.
Defensively, Parker Wortherspoon is not a bad option as a seventh defenseman, but the gut feeling is the Bruins like what they have seen from Lohrei and Peeke. As far as goaltending goes, it doesn't sound or look like we'll see Jeremy Swayman any time soon and you have to wonder what his future in Boston is. The Bruins better hope a Korpisalo/Bussi duo is good enough or there will be a lot of questions for them to answer.