The 2024-25 NHL season is drawing closer and closer with training camp set to start next month. The Boston Bruins have made a number of changes this offseason. While the core group of players is still the same, this season’s roster will have some pretty noticeable differences. Long-time players Matt Grzelcyk and Jake DeBrusk departed at the start of free agency, goaltender Linus Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators, and Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov were brought in to address areas of weakness.
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The Bruins should once again be a top team in the Atlantic Division and make the playoffs, barring any disasters or injury bugs. While the team has benefitted from guys stepping up and playing better than anticipated, if they are to make a real run at the Stanley Cup this season, there are a few guys who will be the most impactful in determining their success.
5. Brad Marchand
The Bruins’ captain, Brad Marchand, may not be a guy who averages above a point per game anymore, but he is still a major part of this team. He turned 36 years old in May and is the last remaining member of the core that saw the franchise through three Stanley Cup Final appearances, including a victory, in the 2010s. Luckily, he seems to be following in the footsteps of his long-time teammates, Patrice Bergeron, Zdeno Chara, David Krejci, and Tuukka Rask, by finding success on the ice well into his 30s.
Marchand finished second on the team in points last season with 67 in 82 games, including 29 goals. The team will be relying on him to get in the 60-plus point range again this season in order for a successful 2024-25. Hopefully, someone will emerge as another option for the Bruins to look to for 25-plus goals in a season, but for now, they only have him, David Pastrnak, Lindholm, and Charlie Coyle, who hit the marker for the first time last season.
Luckily, the hip surgery Marchand had in 2022 hasn’t seemed to slow him down like some were concerned about. Barring no injuries, he should continue to be a major contributor to this team, daring others to surpass him.
4. Charlie McAvoy
Charlie McAvoy enters the 2024-25 season coming off of a disappointing performance in the playoffs last season. He had a concerning number of turnovers and just couldn’t seem to clear the puck out of his own zone like he typically can. It was revealed afterward that he was dealing with an upper-body injury for most of the season, so hopefully he will return to form when the regular season begins in October. The Bruins certainly need it.
McAvoy has been the Bruins’ top defenseman for several seasons now and it isn’t really close. Yes, Brandon Carlo does not get enough recognition as a top stay-at-home defenseman in the league, but McAvoy is the star of the blue line. He plays monster minutes and is normally someone who can be looked to for sound play in his own zone and his ability to move the puck and help generate offense on the attack.
The blue line has gotten upgrades this offseason with the signing of Zadorov and the presumption that Mason Lohrei, who was one of the best defensemen in the postseason, will be a full-time NHLer in 2024-25. But the overall performance of the Bruins’ defense will still heavily rely on the play of McAvoy. His impact on this team and their success cannot be overstated.
3. Jeremy Swayman
Goaltending can be the difference maker between the winner and loser of a Stanley Cup. If the Bruins’ 2024 playoff run is remembered for anything down the line, it should be for the arrival of Jeremy Swayman as a legitimate top goaltender in this league. He was the team’s best player and it wasn’t really close. Without him, they would not have made it out of the first round.
This upcoming season will be a very important one for Swayman as he will transition into a more traditional starting goaltender role. Since coming into the league, he’s largely split each season evenly with Ullmark. Now that he is gone, Swayman will most likely see his workload increase from 40 games a season to 60-plus. He should be more than ready for the increase, but that doesn’t mean there is no chance of growing pains in the process.
How quickly Swayman adjusts to no longer being a rotation will be a huge factor in the 2024-25 season. There may be no adjustment period and Swayman is truly 100 percent ready to go as the playoffs indicated. But the postseason and regular season are different beasts. There are also questions about how Joonas Korpisalo will perform as a backup. Will he be the guy he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets or the one from Ottawa?
Swayman is a restricted free agent this summer and remains unsigned for the 2024-25 season as both he and the team continue to work on the new deal. But once that is sorted out, fans should be excited to see what he’ll do this season. If he can continue to play at the heights he reached in 2023-24 and the postseason, he will be one of the most exciting parts of the Bruins’ season.
There is an argument that could be made that Swayman will be the most impactful player for the Bruins in 2024-25. But as was demonstrated in the playoffs, fantastic goaltending can’t win a championship if nobody is able to generate offense, which leads to numbers two and one on this list.
2. Elias Lindholm
The center position has been an area of weakness for the Bruins for several seasons now. The issues have really boiled down to a lack of depth. They had Bergeron as the number one and Krejci as the number two for over a decade and had no real solutions or plan for when they retired. Last season, Coyle and Pavel Zacha both stepped up and did a good job, but now with the addition of Lindholm, they have a more prototypical, seasoned top-line center.
The play of Lindholm will have a pretty big impact on the 2024-25 season. He had his big, career year in 2021-22 when he had 42 goals and 82 points in 82 games for the Calgary Flames. But that was now three seasons ago and he is coming off a regular season where he certainly had his struggles for both the Flames and the Vancouver Canucks after being part of a big trade in February. He did get things back together in the postseason, but it wasn’t enough to help the team reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Lindholm will be a big part of the Bruins’ 2024-25 season and for many beyond that thanks to the seven-year deal he signed. He and the entire Bruins’ organization are going to want to get those seven years off to a good start because otherwise, it will be a very long tenure for him in Boston. If he is back to the player he is fully capable of being, he will certainly help give the team an important edge in a tough division.
1. David Pastrnak
I am sure no one is surprised by this. Pastrnak is the best player on the Bruins and it isn’t really much of an argument at this point. When he is on, the team is on. When he’s off, the team is off. He was number one in points on the team last season by 40. He is the most impactful player for the team and is an essential part of their success.
Pastrnak just turned 28. He’s no longer one of the young guys in the league and is eager for a Stanley Cup. He’s beginning the second season of his eight-year, $90 million deal, and the last thing the Bruins want is to reach the end of that contract without a championship. It’s safe to say that he’s the best player in the franchise of the 2020s, even if we’re only approaching the halfway point of the decade. He’s certainly doing what he can to help the team win a Cup, now they just need to put it all together.
Luckily, the Bruins have made moves this season to address their issues from last season. As long as Pastrnak plays like he has since coming into the league, this team will be competitive. But if he takes any step backward or gets injured, the team would struggle significantly.
Honorable Mentions
While these five players may be the ones to have the biggest impact on the 2024-25 season, hockey is obviously a team sport. One of the reasons the Bruins have been so successful the last two seasons is the fact that they were able to get help from unexpected players stepping up.
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For 2024-25, Lohrei, Carlo, and Coyle will be the ones to keep an eye on to potentially unseat a member from this list. There is certainly excitement for what many presume will be Lohrei’s first full season in the NHL. Carlo was arguably the best defenseman for the Bruins in the 2024 playoffs and it will be exciting to see how that momentum translates into this upcoming season. Coyle hit 60 points for the first time in his career last season and stepped up in a big way following Bergeron and Krejci’s retirements, but the question is now if he’ll be able to match that.
While Marchand, McAvoy, Swayman, Lindholm, and Pastrnak may be the biggest impact players on the Bruins, they can’t win a Stanley Cup alone. General manager (GM) Don Sweeney has done a fair amount in recent seasons to try and build a complete team, and hopefully, it will all come together in 2024-25.
