The Boston Bruins face a number of offseason questions this summer following a disappointing season. The club failed to make the playoffs while holding a fire sale at the trade deadline. That fire sale saw longtime Bruin and former team captain Brad Marchand get shipped over to the rival Florida Panthers.
As a result, the Bruins will find themselves doing some soul-searching this summer, looking to keep their competitive window open and get back into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. So, let’s take a look at the top 5 offseason priorities the Boston Bruins face this upcoming summer.
Top 5 Boston Bruins offseason priorities in 2025
#5 Blue line depth
This season saw the Boston Bruins get decimated with injuries on the blue line. The loss of Hampus Lindholm early in the season stung the defensive core. Then, the loss of Charlie McAvoy following the 4 Nations Face-Off put the Bruins in a tough spot.
Next year, a major priority will be to build up blue line depth. Filling that need means bringing in reliable bottom-four rearguards who could step up if needed. Two names to keep an eye on are David Savard and Cody Ceci.
But if the Bruins really wanted to make a splash, perhaps making a run at Ivan Provorov or Vladislav Gavrikov could bolster the team’s blue line for next season.
#4 Find a backup goaltender
The Boston Bruins may be in need of a backup goaltender this summer after Joonas Korpisalo expressed his dissatisfaction with limited playing time this season. Korpisalo stated that no goalie is happy with playing 20 to 25 games per season.
Korpisalo: “I don’t think there’s any goalie in the league who’s comfortable playing only 20-25 games.”
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) April 17, 2025
As a result, the Bruins could cash in on Korpisalo’s displeasure, shipping him to a team that’s looking for a goalie.
But regardless of whether the Bruins keep or trade Korpisalo, they’ll need a solid backup or third-string goaltender to ensure the position is taken care of in case one of Korpisalo or Jeremy Swayman goes down with injuries.
#3 Find more scoring
The Boston Bruins’ scoring fell off a cliff this season. While David Pastrnak had another season for the ages, the Bruins don’t have much beyond him. That is why finding more top-end scoring should be a priority for the Bruins this summer.
The free-agent market features some top names like John Tavares, Mitch Marner, Brock Boeser, Brock Nelson, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Kyle Palmieri. The Bruins could make a huge move for someone like Marner or split their resources and bring in a couple of solid top-six forwards to round out the scoring.
#2 Re-sign restricted free agents
Two key RFAs stand out for the Boston Bruins this summer: Mason Lohrei and Morgan Geekie. Both players can play a significant role moving forward and will likely continue to grow. That is why the Bruins must look at locking up both players sooner rather than later.
While the prospect of an offer sheet for either one is not high, the Bruins cannot afford a stalemate like they did with Jeremy Swayman this past offseason. So, expect the Bruins to try to get a deal done quickly, or potentially trade their rights to avoid needless drama.
#1 Find a new coach
The elephant in the room is the spot behind the bench. Joe Sacco gave it the old college try this season but was unable to turn the Bruins around. The team lacked an identity, especially after the trade deadline.
That situation means finding a coach who can imprint his identity on the team, building a contender from the ground up. Some of the usual suspects are on the market this season. However, I suspect team management may look outside the box this summer and potentially hire an under-the-radar candidate.
I don’t want to speculate on who might be on the team’s radar. Nevertheless, fans should keep an eye on some of the names surfacing as they may not be household ones.