It’s hard to make predictions for the Boston Bruins as they will have a new look for the 2024-25 NHL season. They signed Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov in the free-agent frenzy, which solidified their center and left defense depth. The Bruins will also likely enter the season without the services of a goaltending tandem, as Jeremy Swayman will take the reins after the Linus Ullmark trade to the Ottawa Senators. One last new face for the Bruins could be Fabian Lysell, the alleged front-runner to be Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle’s new right winger.
The Bruins had a surprising centennial season in 2023-24. Many people expected them to regress after losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci to retirement. However, Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle proved to be worthy replacements during the regular season. The Bruins also had some young stars emerge to replace the production, including Trent Frederic, Matthew Poitras, Justin Brazeau, and defender Mason Lohrei.
It’s no secret that many are waiting for the Bruins to start showing their age. The problem for those people is that the Bruins are assembling a young core that could keep them amongst the league’s contenders for many years. David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Swayman are great starts to having superstars at every position. Pair them with complementary pieces like Brandon Carlo, Elias Lindholm, Hampus Lindholm, Pavel Zacha, Lysell, and Poitras, and the Bruins could continue their rein in the East.
Will 2024-25 be the season they fail to match expectations? Or will the Bruins continue perplexing the rest of the Eastern Conference and spend most of the season at the top of the Atlantic Division?
Jeremy Swayman contends for a Vezina Trophy
Boston Bruins goaltender Jeremy Swayman (1) makes a save against the Florida Panthers during the second period in game five of the second round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amerant Bank Arena. © Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Tiny Thompson, Frank Brimsek, Pete Peeters, Tim Thomas, Tuukka Rask, and Linus Ullmark. The previous list names all the winners of a Vezina Trophy in Bruins’ history. The 100-year history of the Bruins doesn’t have as many winners as you think, with Thompson (4), Brimsek (2), and Thomas (2) being the only multi-time winners for the team.
It took Boston having the best regular season in NHL history for Ullmark to win the award in 2022-23. Ullmark and Swayman shared the duties for most of the season, but Ullmark’s numbers when he was in the net were a sight to behold. Ullmark is just a year removed from those numbers, which could be the biggest indictment of Swayman’s talents that they trust him to take over the duties.
Let’s forget about Swayman’s current contract situation. The Bruins’ transition to Swayman began in the 2024 postseason. Swayman was the better goaltender during the regular season, boasting a 25-10-8 record, with a 2.53 goals-against average and a .916 save percentage. Those numbers were a downgrade from his 2022-23 season but still placed him amongst the best in the league.
Swayman became a superstar during the playoffs, recording a 2.15 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage in 12 games. The speculation was that the Bruins would utilize the tandem approach in the playoffs after getting away from it during their 2023 first-round exit. However, Swayman’s play didn’t allow Boston to make that move.
Swayman could face a lot of rubber this season, and it’ll be intriguing to monitor how he does when playing more games compared to what he is accustomed to. If Swayman can adjust to the expanded workload and take control of the net, he could put up Vezina Trophy-winning numbers.
The Bruins win the Atlantic Division
The Bruins have shocked everyone with what they’ve been able to do over the past two seasons. It may not even be bold to predict they will win the Atlantic Division anymore, as it seems they’ll be able to beat any adversity. However, the rest of the division’s offseasons could signal another winning season for the Bruins.
You could argue that the Bruins were the only top team from the Atlantic to improve this offseason. They didn’t lose many integral players other than Ullmark and brought in Lindholm and Zadorov. We’ve seen average players come to Boston and thrive in the past, and it feels like we could see the same with these two players from Vancouver.
Now, let’s look at the rest of the Atlantic Division. The Toronto Maple Leafs made some lateral moves but didn’t get much better from last season. The Tampa Bay Lightning let their captain, Steven Stamkos, walk and traded one of their top defensemen, Mikhail Sergachev. They signed Jake Guentzel and some other complementary pieces but are weaker on paper. The Florida Panthers will be the other contending team from the division, who lost some big blue line pieces from their Stanley Cup-winning roster.
It’d have been hard to believe two offseasons ago, but the Atlantic Division could be the Bruins’ to lose in 2024-25.
