The 2026-27 NHL season is almost a month old and as of this writing, the Boston Bruins sit second in the entire league with a 9-2-1 record (19 points) through 12 games. They take on the defending Stanley Cup champion, Carolina Hurricanes– who sit first in the league at 9-2-2 (20 points) through 13 games– Tuesday night in Raleigh.
Though it’s still early in the season, there’s a lot to look forward to and a lot of “they should probably stay the course, shouldn’t they?” to keep in mind.
After eliminating the Toronto Maple Leafs in seven games in the 2024 First Round before losing to the Florida Panthers in six games in the 2024 Second Round, the Bruins’ inevitable collapse in the post-Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí center-depth era commenced with a 28th place finish in the overall standings in 2024-25.
General manager, Don Sweeney, dealt Brad Marchand to the Panthers, Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs and Charlie Coyle to the Colorado Avalanche at that season’s trade deadline as part of a larger selloff that sent Trent Frederic to the Edmonton Oilers and Justin Brazeau to the Minnesota Wild in the buildup to the 2025 deadline itself.
But then Boston rebounded and made the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026, after finishing eighth in the 2025-26 overall standings– good enough for the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and ultimately a six-game First Round exit at the hands of the Atlantic Division-winning Buffalo Sabres.
Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov emerged as promising young forwards throughout last season after being components in the Carlo and Brazeau trades.
Minten has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 12 games thus far in 2026-27, while Khusnutdinov isn’t far behind with 3-3–6 totals in that same 12-game span. They’ve both played up the lineup in a pinch due to injuries or whenever Bruins head coach, Marco Sturm, makes in-game adjustments to try to spark some offense.
Because of Boston’s own shortcomings in 2024-25, the Bruins ended up with the seventh overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft.
The B’s lucked out by selecting James Hagens after Hagens’ draft stock tumbled from “potential first overall pick” in 2025, to “somewhere in the top-10.” Hagens didn’t live up to expectations in his jump from the U.S. National Development Program to Boston College while others– like Matthew Schaefer and Michael Misa– became clear-cut favorites.
In 12 games so far this season, however, Hagens has nine points (four goals, five assists) and has established himself as an early contender for the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year.
He also has 16 blocked shots, so at this point he might be chasing Bergeron’s NHL-record six Frank J. Selke Trophy awards as the “best defensive forward.”
Not to put any pressure or anything on the 19-year-old that turns 20 on Nov. 3rd.
In the meantime, Boston has also had contributions from Matthew Poitras (4-3–7 totals in nine games since becoming the regular fourth line center) and Frédéric Brunet (1-3–4 totals in nine games while emerging as a power play quarterback on the blue line) as the youth movement has seen surprising returns.
Nobody expected the Bruins to be leading the league in goal differential with 48 goals for and 26 goals against (a plus-22 differential), though last year’s Vezina finalist, Jeremy Swayman, and this year’s backup, Michael DiPietro, may have a say in the matter.
Swayman is 7-1-1 in nine games (nine starts) with a 2.20 goals-against average, a .920 save percentage and one shutout. Not to be outdone, but DiPietro is 2-1-0 in three games (three starts) with a 1.69 GAA, a .941 SV% and one shutout as well.
Oh, and, yes, David Pastrňák still exists.
He’s the captain now and not only leads the team behind closed doors– though anyone in Boston’s dressing room will tell you they lead by committee– but also leads the club with 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in 12 games.
Pastrňák (427 goals in 845 games from 2014-present) is one goal away from surpassing Bergeron (427 goals in 1,294 games from 2003-23) for sole-possession of the third-most goals in Bruins franchise history.
Offseason acquisition in a trade with the Utah Mammoth, JJ Peterka, has made an impact too with 4-5–9 totals in 12 games.
Additionally, Elias Lindholm looks a lot more comfortable knowing he doesn’t have to be the first line center and can simply play his game by fitting in on the third line and contributing on the power play with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in 12 games.
That’s all fine and dandy, though there’s still 72 games left in the regular season and lot to consider long-term.
So now let’s try to answer some questions you might have about the B’s and NHL at large.
What should the Bruins do with Pavel Zacha?
Pavel Zacha is back to centering the first line flanked by Peterka and Pastrňák on his wings and despite only having two goals in 11 games this season, Zacha doesn’t look out of place.
He’s on pace for 49 points this season, which would be down from his career-high 65 points in 78 games last year.
Zacha has become a pretty consistent near or above 50-point scorer in a Bruins uniform since he was acquired from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Erik Haula prior to the 2022-23 season.
There’s no denying that Zacha has played his best hockey in Boston. He’s become a fan favorite in the awkward transition from Bergeron and Krejčí’s Bruins to Pastrňák, Charlie McAvoy and Swayman’s Bruins.
But with this season being a contract year and a $4.750 million cap hit, Zacha is the biggest blue chip the Bruins have that could make an immediate impact on another NHL roster that’s looking to bolster their lineup for a Cup run.
Boston is by no means out of the woods from their retool.
You aren’t a de facto Stanley Cup contender until you at least make the Conference Final round a year prior to the current season and you haven’t successfully completed a rebuild or retool (or whatever you want to call it) until you’ve at least made it to the Second Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Bruins– since they hit the “reset” button in 2024-25– have only made the postseason in 2026, and lost in the First Round.
It does not make sense to add any major components that would help them present themselves as being in “win now” mode when they actually aren’t, contrary to how nice it would be to see Pastrňák accepting the Cup in June.
Minten, Hagens and Poitras are shaping up to be the future of Boston’s center depth with Minten and Hagens auditioning for first or second line roles to Poitras’ third line center presence.
Dean Letourneau and Will Zellers are on their way after they’re both done playing college hockey.
The Bruins could use Zacha to shore up another top-six winger– whether that’s a current NHL player (like Peterka) or another young, NHL ready prospect on the verge of a burgeoning career (a potential first line center, winger or otherwise in the next two or three years).
Boston isn’t going to contend for the Cup this season or possibly next season, but by trading Zacha and getting younger players and draft picks, they can help keep their own cupboards full of potential as the rest of the roster starts translating their potential into kinetic energy.
Re-signing Zacha at $9.000 million or more per season is a risky move considering Elias Lindholm already exists as your one token “this won’t age well 30 or older” contract.
Though, if you’re able to move on from that one as well at some point, all the power to you and kudos.
What about Casey Mittelstadt?
Casey Mittelstadt is a little easier to answer despite the fact that he’s also on pace for 49 points this season and is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Mittelstadt is two years younger than Zacha. He’s 27.
He’s also probably not commanding that much more than his current $5.750 million cap hit on his next deal which, unlike Zacha, is probably a more acceptable three or four years at most.
Boston could lock up Mittelstadt through the rest of his NHL prime and only face a slight pay raise in the process.
Mittelstadt plays an important role on the third line and is much better as a wing than as a center as he’s rejuvenated his career in Boston after his production fell from 59 points in 82 games with the Buffalo Sabres in 2022-23, to 57 points in 80 games combined with the Sabres and Colorado Avalanche in 2023-24, to just 40 points in 81 games with the Avalanche and Bruins in 2024-25.
Last season he had 42 points in 71 games.
He probably won’t have more than that from here on out and that’s not bad for a third line winger that could potentially drop down to the fourth line as Boston’s youth movement climbs the ladder.
By that point, the Bruins would just be hoping that Mittelstadt is able to get 20 or more points in a season.
And that’s assuming he signs a four-year extension and becomes the next Sean Kuraly.
Realistically, a player of Mittelstadt’s caliber won’t command more than $7.000 million per season in the new NHL with player salaries skyrocketing this offseason and the salary cap expected to continue climbing.
Compared to Zacha, Mittelstadt wouldn’t be doubling his current cap hit and gives Sweeney plenty of space to tend to other matters like re-signing his two biggest pending-restricted free agents in Poitras and Mason Lohrei, while giving himself enough room to make a trade or sign some depth pieces and leave cap space for in-season action in 2027-28.
It feels like there’s mutual interest in continuing the symbiotic relationship that Mittelstadt and the Bruins have developed, whereas Zacha could be in a Michael Ryder in 2011, type of situation.
Wait, what about Mason Lohrei? You wouldn’t trade him?
At this point, no.
Lohrei is off to a good start this season with five points in 12 games. He’s on pace for 35 points which would establish a career-high for the 25-year-old Louisiana native.
By now, he is what he is and that’s not necessarily a bad thing so long as he can remain as a steady second or third pairing defender long-term.
His current cap hit is $3.200 million and prior to the Philadelphia Flyers signing Leo Carlsson to an offer sheet with an $18 million cap hit that sent a shockwave around the league in player salaries, Lohrei probably wouldn’t be getting more than $4.500 to $5.000 million on whatever his next deal looks like.
Now, of course, he might land (at most) in the $6.500 to $7.500 million cap hit range after asking for something crazy like an $8.000 million cap hit, but that’s assuming he hits his mark in point-pace and goes above and beyond in his defensive elements that have otherwise plagued him thus far.
Unless the Bruins find a way to get Simon Edvinsson from the Detroit Red Wings– which would likely mean including Lohrei and more in the hypothetical trade– any sort of move coming from the blue line is probably one in which Boston finds a trading partner to extend the NHL career of Henri Jokiharju who is currently buried in Providence (AHL).
Speaking of Detroit…
It’s probably a good thing that Dylan Larkin is not interested in a trade with the Boston Bruins at this point.
Sure, he would immediately become a first line center with Peterka and Pastrňák on his wings, but isn’t that just what got Detroit into this problem in the first place?
Larkin needs to be dealt to the type of roster where he can just “fit in”– both in the literal “NHL players don’t like to stand out and are boring” sense and in a manner similar to how Nathan Horton played really well for the Bruins after being acquired from the Panthers prior to the 2010-11 season.
Neither Larkin nor Horton are true first line talent, but in the right situation or by simply being demoted to a second or third line on a Cup contending team they can just play their game and contribute to the overarching depth in scoring and roster construction.
Besides, if you’re going to potentially package Zacha, Lohrei and more, you should be acquiring Edvinsson and a draft pick or two for good measure as part of the two or three-year plan to return to Cup contention.
