It has been an offseason of turnover to date for the Boston Bruins, but not as much as a lot of fans might have hoped. General manager Don Sweeney knew he needed to make some upgrades while letting some players walk in free agency. It comes with the territory each year.
We are just over a month away from NHL training camps beginning, with the regular season beginning the 84-game schedule for each team in late September. For the Bruins, they will kick off their season on Sept. 29 at TD Garden against the New York Rangers. Here are the biggest moves made by Sweeney this summer, ranked from least important to the most important.
Ranking the Boston Bruins' 2026 offseason moves
6. Trading Fabian Lysell
You don't want to call Fabian Lysell a complete bust, so we'll see what happens with the Colorado Avalanche. He was traded in June to the Mile High City for prospect Ivan Ivan. The finger could be pointed at a couple of different reasons as to why it never worked out with the Bruins, whether it was Lysell or the organization's inability to develop him. Whatever it is, let's see how things play out with Colorado.
5. Signing Connor Clifton
Sure, it's a nice story, defenseman Connor Clifton coming back to the Bruins on a two-year deal, but was it really necessary? Honestly, the number of defensemen Boston has and the number of spots available in the lineup don't line up. Something needs to give. Clifton is a solid third-pairing defenseman, but nothing more. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out in camp on defense.
4. Trading Joonas Korpisalo to the Rangers
The signs were there that Boston was going to look for a trade partner for goalie Joonas Korpisalo, and that happened on July 1. He was traded to the Rangers, and the deal wasn't about the return, but more about making room for Michael DiPietro to be Jeremy Swayman's backup. If the Bruins tried to send DiPietro to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), he never would have made it like he did last season. Sweeney didn't want another Brandon Bussi outcome next season.
3. Acquiring Will Borgen
See above with Clifton. After failing to get a trade with the Edmonton Oilers over the finish line for Darnell Nurse on July 1, reportedly, Sweeney quickly pivoted to the Rangers for Will Borgen. Again, how's the logjam on defense going to end up playing out next month? There are going to be some tough decisions.
2. Letting Viktor Arvidsson walk to the Detroit Red Wings
You'll see when we get to No. 1 as to why the Bruins let Viktor Arvidsson walk in free agency, but there was no way to find a roster spot for him considering what he signed with the Detroit Red Wings for? Arvidsson, coming off a strong season with the Black and Gold, inked a deal in the Motor City for two years with an AAV of $5 million. That's only $1 million more than he made last season. If Sweeney and the Bruins wanted to, they could have made it work. This is. a tough way to break up one of the top second lines last season in the NHL.
1. Trading for JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth
Ok, so when the Bruins acquired right wing JJ Peterka from the Utah Mammoth right before the draft for two first-round picks in June, it signaled things might be going in the direction it did with Arvidsson. Peterka had what came to be considered a down season in his one season with the Mammoth, but he could be the key piece to the first line with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak. If he has the year many feel he could have, this could be a huge addition for 2026-27.
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