Bruins 'deserve much more' next season, Swayman says

STOCKHOLM -- Jeremy Swayman said the Boston Bruins "have to be better" and can bounce back to their usual standard after a disappointing 2024-25 season.

The Bruins (33-39-10) finished last in the Atlantic Division, tied for last in the Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Flyers, and finished 15 points back of the Montreal Canadiens for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the East.

"We know we have better (to give)," Swayman said from the 2025 IIHF World Championship last week. "We know what we have to do to have success in Boston. Our fans deserve much more and we deserve much more. That's what we're going to do."

The Bruins, who had missed the playoffs just twice in 17 years, entered the season with high expectations.

They finished second in the Atlantic Division with 109 points in 2023-24, and advanced to the second round of the playoffs before losing to the eventual Stanley Cup-winning Florida Panthers in six games.

Following that playoff exit, Boston bolstered its lineup, signing two unrestricted free agents, center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov, on July 1.

Then they stumbled.

"I can't really pinpoint it," Swayman said. "You see the history of the League and how teams go through the ups and downs, and that's the first time Boston has had that. It's something we learn from, and we're fortunate to learn from it. But moving forward, that's not our standard. Our standard is much higher than what we had this year. That's something that guys will come back with, a vengeance and have a chip on our shoulders. That's something we're excited about."

Myriad issues converged on the Bruins, which led to an 8-9-3 start that prompted the firing of coach Jim Montgomery on Nov. 19.

Swayman missed all of training camp in a contract dispute that was resolved two days before the regular season began. Forward Brad Marchand had three surgeries during the offseason -- on his elbow for a torn tendon, his groin to address a sports hernia, and his abdominal area, also for a sports hernia -- and forward David Pastrnak spent the offseason recovering from injury, too.

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm sustained a season-ending fractured patella Nov. 12, and defenseman Charlie McAvoy was lost for the season after sustaining an infection and a significant injury to his AC joint playing for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.

"I think there were a lot of things that went wrong for us this year," Elias Lindholm said. "The coaching change and stuff like that, then losing 'Hammer' (Hampus Lindholm) was tough for us, and McAvoy was in and out a little bit, and once you lose a D-pair like that it's going to be tough, stuff going on with 'Sway's contract and 'Marchy's contract and stuff like that. It was a lot of noise and a lot of attention.

"Not the season anyone wanted, but hopefully next year everyone's healthy and ready to go, have a good camp, and be ready to be a playoff team again."

There's reason for the Bruins to be optimistic. They retooled on the fly prior to the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, receiving forward Fraser Minten, a first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft from the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Brandon Carlo, and a conditional second-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft from the Panthers for Marchand.

They also acquired forwards Casey Mittelstadt and William Zellers, and a conditional 2025 second-round pick from the Colorado Avalanche for center Charlie Coyle; forwards Marat Khusnutdinov and Jakub Lauko and a 2026 sixth-round pick from the Minnesota Wild for forward Justin Brazeau; and a 2025 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick from the Edmonton Oilers as part of a three-team trade involving the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils.

The Bruins will also have the No. 7 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.

"Tough season," Pastrnak said. "We lost a couple players. We got some good talent. We have some draft picks. We are going to be much better. I fully trust in the management, and I'm pretty sure and 100 percent positive we're going to be a much better team next year."