Neither the 2025 National Hockey League Entry Draft nor this year’s free-agency class is expected to yield a game changer for the Boston Bruins, but during this morning’s postseason press conference at Legends restaurant inside TD Garden, General Manager Don Sweeney indicated that the Bruins won’t hold back from spending on free agents in order to avoid becoming hogtied should the a game-changing player become available in 2026.
General Manager Don Sweeney says what will “drive the bus” of the coaching search is not an interview with himself but recognition of an opportunity to coach a team with the history and success of the Boston Bruins.
Of course, the Bruins would love to somehow acquire a franchise center, but the top talent in this summer’s UFA class is Toronto line-driving winger Mitch Marner. The Bruins already have David Pastrnak, do they really want to go there?
“Well, I think we’re going to try and pursue the right players. If they don’t exist or they don’t want to join us, then that’s a different story. But a hypothetical of eyeballing a player that may come to fruition in ’26 could be short sighted. Ultimately, if that player really wants to join you, I think you can do everything in your power to make the space available. That’s my honest belief,” said Sweeney. “I think you can move a player. You can create enough space if that player, that is a great player in the National Hockey League, can help you. I think every team finds the space necessary. … I don’t think we’re boxing ourselves out.”
Among the Bruins’ many problems during the season, Sweeney acknowledged a lack of scoring, saying several players were well below “their watermarks” and that he will be looking for help on the wings to complement the scoring provided this past season by Pastrnak and restricted free agent Morgan Geekie.
Sweeney was noncommittal regarding Boston’s unrestricted free agents, including defenseman Henri Jokiharju, whose calm, on-ice demeanor seemed to complement Nikita Zadorov’s more-explosive, overall game.
A former late first-round draft pick entering his prime years, Jokiharju was acquired at the trade deadline from Buffalo for a fourth-round pick as a right-shot replacement for Brandon Carlo, who was dealt to Toronto for an impressive package of futures including left-shot center Fraser Minten and a first-round pick.
Joe Haggerty reported earlier this week on his “Pucks with Haggs” podcast that a conversation with J.P. Barry, Jokiharju’s agent, yielded indication that the defenseman likes Boston and hopes to re-sign with the Bruins.
Noting that internal discussions have begun on where the Bruins see Jokiharju and fellow UFA Cole Koepke, the only unsigned player that Sweeney was willing to publicly commit to is Geekie, the Seattle Kraken reject (2023) with whom the Bruins are seeking agreement on a major contract extension.
Geekie, who reached the 30-goal plateau (33) this season while skating on a line with Pastrnak, can wait to sign or choose salary arbitration.
Beginning July 1, other NHL teams can extend unsigned RFA’s an offer sheet that the player can sign, forcing his team to choose between paying him according to that contract offer or relinquishing its rights in exchange for a compensatory package of draft picks predetermined by the annual average value of the new contract (as outlined in the Collective Bargaining Agreement).
Though historically rare, there have been recently successful offer sheets. Seeing how the Edmonton Oilers were up against the salary cap last summer, the St. Louis Blues extended offer sheets to two Edmonton players, forward Dylan Holloway and defenseman Philip Broberg, both 23-year-old, former first-round draft picks at eighth and 14th overall respectively, and the Oilers were leveraged into letting both players go for picks.
Along with Geekie, Mason Lohrei, Marat Khusnutdinov, Johnny Beecher and Jakub Lauko are all RFA with arbitration rights. Sweeney said that Beecher and Pavel Zacha are dealing with injuries as they head into the offseason.
Other takeaways from the executive presser:
While profuse in his apology to Boston’s loyal fans, CEO Charlie Jacobs told longtime Boston Globe hockey writer Kevin Paul Dupont that the Bruins will not be rescinding their 4% increase on season tickets for 2025-26. Jacobs cited economic factors and the fact that 50% of all revenues go to the players.
Team president Cam Neely said Sweeney and his management team have earned the right to get the Bruins back to where they really want to be, but when asked he admitted he had yet to decide on whether to offer Sweeney a contract extension in advance of the 2025-26 season, the final season of Sweeney’s current deal. Neely said he expects he will be making that decision in short order.
Sweeney said that he has made Interim Coach Joe Sacco aware that he will be part of the “final group” of candidates to coach the Bruins next season because he is deserving of that consideration, but he also noted that, while the team recovered its defensive structure after making the coaching change (from Jim Montgomery at the 20-game mark) and went 12-6-1 in Sacco’s first 19 games to put the Bruins in a playoff position at the new year (20-15-4), the season then went off the rails in 2025.
Part of the coaching search, said Sweeney, will be in identifying a candidate whom they believe will be instrumental in getting “our goaltenders back to where they’re pushing each other (pregnant pause) and defending in front of them much better.” One more thing: The Bruins, said Sweeney, need to thrive on internal competition, another aspect of the team’s philosophy that will be applied to the coaching search.
Regarding Sacco, Rink Rap took away the impression that, while his enduring effort and consistently positive influence on several individual players compels the brass to recognize and appreciate him on a public platform, it remains highly unlikely from a historical perspective that the Bruins will remove the interim tag and name Sacco the new head coach.
Sacco did an excellent job with what he had, and he brought out the best in Pastrnak, Geekie and Zadorov, among others. Given the injuries, he simply did not have the horses to compete in a manner that would legitimize using the 2024-25 debacle as any kind of referendum on his abilities.
Sacco sure could have used some secondary scoring once he had rebuilt the Bruins’ recommitment to and execution of their defensive structure, but when no such help was coming from within or without and the lack of firepower was felt on the ice, that’s when the Bruins tried as individuals to do too much. In hockey parlance, that’s a recipe for disaster.
As an aside, for several years now we’ve heard Neely and Sweeney thank the Jacobs family for supporting their efforts to improve the roster in season, especially upon significant deadline acquisitions. No such discussion was forthcoming this year, especially because no such acquisitions were made. One is compelled to wonder if such an acquisition was proposed and not approved. One 25-goal stick might have changed five January outcomes, in which case the entire conversation might be different before the Bruins decided to sell on March 7 and let the season flow down the drain like melting Zamboni snow.
Further convincing management it was time to call off any attempt to salvage the season was news that Hampus Lindholm’s kneecap hardware, and he was shut down for the season. Soon after, it became apparent that Charlie McAvoy’s injury in the 4 Nations tournament would threaten his season.
Once the trade deadline presented as a seller’s market, the Bruins decided to engage that market and trade away core players with term remaining on their contracts, namely Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle. The existing impasse with impending free agent Brad Marchand exacerbated the situation. Ultimately, the Bruins embraced what would become a free fall reminiscent of the opener to an episode of Mad Men.
None of that is on Sacco, who still managed to cultivate positives including Elias Lindholm, who found a late-season home centering Geekie and Pastrnak.
Sacco never said as much, but both he and Bruins management know he took one for the team, perhaps damaging his last chance at a legitimate, head-coaching opportunity in the NHL. It is with little doubt that the Bruins would love to keep him in the organization, perhaps to mentor a young coach like Jay Leach or Ryan Mougenel should either’s day come with the Bruins.
One possible indicator suggested that highly coveted University of Denver Coach David Carle is a longshot to coach the Bruins, seeing as Sweeney considers exposure to the NHL to be a “huge” factor. He did qualify his general remark “if someone blows us away” (in the interview process).
Leach has exposure to the NHL, and so does Boston University Coach Jay Pandolfo, who has given no public indication he is looking to leave BU for the NHL.
There was no Q&A regarding veteran NHL coaches such as Peter Laviolette, John Tortorella or Rick Tocchet, who have all become available after late-season or postseason terminations. Tocchet is considered a heavy favorite to replace Tortorella in Philadelphia, and multiple teams are waiting to see if the Pittsburgh Penguins and Mike Sullivan will part ways after three straight years out of the playoffs. The Islanders have Patrick Roy behind their bench but are now searching for a new GM after firing Lou Lamoriello. Chris Drury, meantime, has an extension with the Rangers.
Despite the NHL’s propensity for choosing experience over new blood and the competitive market for experienced coaches, the Bruins will not be rushed. To their credit, they want to get the right coach, which is a lot like getting the right goaltender. There are lots of good ones, but getting the right one is the trick.
Minten and Matt Poitras are among players suiting up for AHL Providence as the P-Bruins start their best-of-three against Springfield tonight at the Amica Mutual Pavilion in Providence. Game 2 is Friday night in Springfield and, if necessary, Game 3 back in Providence on Sunday at 3 pm.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 