It doesn’t take a committed hockey fan to know that the 2024-25 season was a disappointment for the Boston Bruins. After finishing as one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference during the 2023-24 campaign with 109 points, Boston fell well short of the postseason last year with a 33-point difference in the standings.
The reset button was first hit at last year’s trade deadline, when the Bruins traded Trent Frederic, Max Jones, Justin Brazeau, Charlie Coyle, Brad Marchand, and Brandon Carlo for a collection of prospects and draft capital. By trading away several role players and their captain, Boston opened itself up to a change in leadership and culture.
To some, there hasn’t been enough change to the Bruins’ identity with Cam Neely and Don Sweeney remaining in their leadership positions after a disastrous campaign. Still, we already know that David Pastrňák and Charlie McAvoy will lead the changes, and hopefully a renaissance, on the ice.
Marco Sturm, the new head coach, understands the changes needed for the Bruins to return to contention, as he mentioned in his introductory press conference. Sturm plans to draw inspiration from Boston’s culture during his playing days in the organization in the late 2000s and early 2010s.
When asked about the transition from the old guard, Sturm was quoted as saying, “We’ve got to reestablish the whole thing because these guys are not here anymore. So, now it’s going to be up to us and the new group to lead this group to a new era.”
Similarly, Sweeney spoke about Boston’s ability to be harder to play against this season, saying, “I think we’ve always been a team, since I’ve been here, that prides ourself in that. That’s the defensive structure I talked about. At times last year, even when we had our group, we were an easy out. I can’t stand for that. So, we are going to reestablish that.”
Unfortunately, Sturm won’t have the most talented locker room at his disposal. Boston largely added around the fringes this offseason, adding Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, Viktor Arvidsson, Michael Eyssimont, and Jordan Harris. The summer additions have made the Bruins a more complete team, though they are not necessarily better.
There’s no doubting that Boston has plenty of work to do in their quest back toward contention. It likely won’t come this year in arguably the toughest division in the league. Still, it’ll be interesting to see how Sturm’s new system and cultural influence is received in the locker room throughout the regular season.