Why James Hagens could be the offensive spark the Bruins need

It's time for a mea culpa on my opinion that fans were overreacting to the fact that James Hagens didn't start his professional career with the Boston Bruins. When Hagens' Boston College career ended, it looked like a smart move for him to start in Providence. However, that was when the Bruins' offense was clicking. After some ugly efforts over their past three games, it might be time for my opinion to change.

At the time, Lukas Reichel was working out on the third line with Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm, and the first line of David Pastrnak, Fraser Minten, and Marat Khusnutdinov was also performing well. While that was going on, the second line was carrying the team, making the need for Hagens non-existent.

Since then, the Bruins have been struggling to mount any offense, due to the regression of the second line, the unexplainable loss of confidence from Geekie, and what looks like a significantly fatigued Pastrnak. However, the main reason it is failing is the revolving door of left-wingers on the third line.

Reichel played well early in his Bruins' debut, but his play over his past two games hasn't been impressive. In the middle of those two games, Marco Sturm gave Mikey Eyssimont a chance to claim the role, but he barely made any impact against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Sturm needs to find a boost on that third line, mostly for the linemates than anything else.

Geekie is having a crisis of confidence, and putting him on a line with Pastrnak while he is also struggling didn't help matters on Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindholm has also been quiet after a brief hot streak through the middle of March. Inserting a player like Hagens to bring a different element to their game could be the answer.

Adding Hagens would also give the two veterans something else to play for. Geekie is playing like he has a massive weight on his shoulders, and the TNT broadcast was hammering that point home during Sunday's game. His body language and thousand-yard stare on the bench wasn't what fans needed to see.

Porter Martone scoring the overtime winner on Sunday for the Flyers didn't help matters. Philadelphia drafted him after Hagens in the 2025 draft, and he is already making an impact. While their developmental paths aren't linear, it isn't going to help with quieting the noise around James Hagens.

Don Sweeney may still be against giving Hagens a chance, especially with the Bruins further increasing their playoff odds with a point against the Flyers. The problem is that if the offense continues to play this way, it's going to be a quick exit.