By: Ryan Jainchill | Follow me on Twitter/X @jainchill_ryan
Last week, we looked at the Boston Bruins forward depth chart, analyzing where the pieces may fall come Training Camp. Now, it’s time to look at the depth chart for the two positions instrumental in the Bruins’ success last season: defense and goaltending.
Right Shot Defenders: Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, Andrew Peeke, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, Billy Sweezey
The right-shot defenseman getting top-line minutes for the Boston Bruins this season is the man who has been manning down the fort defensively for the past few seasons: Charlie McAvoy. Despite a rough postseason, McAvoy is still the Bruins’ best overall defenseman, and he doesn’t seem keen on letting that change. In his seventh season dawning the Spoked B sweater, McAvoy set a career-high in goals with 12 and a new high in average time on ice with 24:50 per game. In 12 postseason games, he recorded an average of 25:35 per game, a team-high.
McAvoy’s smooth skating, offensive abilities, and defensive prowess place him in the upper echelon of defensemen in the National Hockey League. The question now is, who does Jim Montgomery pair their franchise defenseman with? Will Montgomery pair him with a big, burley defenseman in new acquisition Nikita Zadorov? Does he revive the pairing with Hampus Lindholm in hopes that they can get back on the same page? Or does McAvoy find himself alongside a youngster in Mason Lohrei, who had a spectacular showing in the playoffs? That’s up to Montgomery and his staff to decide.
The other right-shot defenseman in the Bruins’ top four is a fan-favorite in ninth-year Bruin Brandon Carlo. Carlo is the team’s resident defensive stalwart and is coming off a stellar postseason in which he recorded a plus-four and added three goals, two of which came in the second round against Florida. In the regular season, his eighth in Boston, Carlo was a plus-23 while recording 14 points.
The 6’5”, 217-pound right-shot defenseman finished ninth overall in average short-handed time on ice per game with 3:05, proving how valuable he is in his own zone. Carlo’s value in his own end will allow him to thrive playing behind McAvoy and even playing alongside number 73 while short-handed. At even strength, it is likely that he finds himself paired with Lindholm again, although a pairing of him and Zadorov (6’6”) or Lohrei (6’5”) would be quite intimidating.
After being dealt to Boston from Columbus at the 2024 Trade Deadline, Andrew Peeke solidified himself as the bottom-pair right defenseman with a strong end to the year. Peeke averaged 17:36 minutes of time on ice in 15 regular season games down the stretch, recording two assists. The 6’3”, 214-pound Parkland, Florida, native suffered an injury in game two of the Toronto series and would only dress for six of the Bruins’ 13 playoff games, but still tallied nine blocks and six hits.
Peeke’s physicality and shot-blocking ability allow him to play key shutdown minutes for Boston, as shown in his 65.4 defensive zone start time percentage. He recorded shifts alongside a handful of defensemen last season and will likely play alongside Lohrei or Zadorov, depending on matchups or Montgomery’s desire to utilize a possible size mismatch.
Three players who could either push to be the seventh defenseman or be used in an injury situation include Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, and Billy Sweezey. Mitchell is the only one who has appeared in a game with Boston. Regula spent all of last season in the AHL with Providence, and Sweezey with the Blue Jackets’ AHL affiliate, the Cleveland Monsters.
In 13 games last season for the Bruins, Mitchell notched two assists and had a plus/minus rating of +6 but failed to appear in a game after the calendar flipped to 2024 due to the emergence of Parker Wotherspoon as a viable seventh defenseman. Mitchell’s puck-moving abilities were evident in his stints up in Boston, but he struggled on the defensive side of the game. If the likes of McAvoy, Carlo, or Peeke go down with an injury, it is certainly a possibility that Mitchell would get the call-up from Providence as a replacement, but it is more than likely he starts the season in the AHL.
Regula and Sweezey have seen minutes at the NHL level but have failed to make an impact. Alongside Mitchell, Regula was acquired from Chicago when Boston sent Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Windy City in a cap dump. He played the entirety of his 2023-24 season in Providence, scoring four goals and 22 assists, good for second among defensemen on the team. Sweezey is more of the physical type, tallying 73 penalty minutes in 57 games with Cleveland.
The Hanson, Massachusetts native has appeared in nine games in the 2022-23 season for the Blue Jackets, where in his lone visit to his home state, he would fight former Bruin Jakub Lauko. Regula and Sweezey find themselves further down the depth chart than a guy like Mitchell due to experience at the NHL level, but both have their upsides at the professional level, whether that be Regula’s playmaking skills and smooth skating or Sweezey’s physicality and willingness to fight.
Left Shot Defenders: Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Mason Lohrei, Parker Wotherspoon, Jordan Oesterle
The left-shot defensemen’s depth received a bit of a shake-up over the last few months. Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort have departed, with the former signing with Pittsburgh and the latter receiving a one-year contract in Vancouver. In comes former Canucks Nikita Zadorov, a 6’6”, 248-pound behemoth, who Sweeney inked to a six-year, five million dollar contract to bring his physicality to Boston.
The Bruins have struggled to find a consistent partner for McAvoy since the departure of long-time captain Zdeno Chara. Grzelcyk, Lindholm, Forbort, Lohrei, and Jeremy Lauzon have all played minutes alongside McAvoy, but none outside of Grzelcyk has lasted over a season. With the addition of Zadorov, Sweeney looks to stabilize that position. The Moscow, Russia, native doesn’t quite record high point totals, with his career high of 22 points coming in Calgary back in 2021-22.
Zadorov has a sneaky goal-scoring ability, notching 14 in the 2022-23 season with the Flames and four in the 2023-24 postseason as a member of the Vancouver Canucks. Zadorov, like McAvoy, is a minutes eater, recording an average of 20:09 of ice time in 13 playoff games back in April and May. The possible pairing between the two would be crucial in shutting down their opponents’ offensive attacks and would also be a great penalty-killing duo.
If Montgomery feels that Zadorov’s ability would be better suited alongside Carlo on the second pair, a former partner of McAvoy’s in Hampus Lindholm would be another solid option. Despite a “down” year last season, where he saw his point total shrink from 53 in 2022-23 to 26 last season, Lindholm had a great postseason, tallying three assists and the game-tying goal in Boston’s game-seven victory over Toronto.
He averaged 23:17 minutes on ice in the regular season and 22:20 in the 13 playoff games, playing mostly at even strength and on the penalty kill. Lindholm’s smooth skating and puck-moving ability are top-notch, but he hasn’t quite developed pristine chemistry with McAvoy. He has found the majority of his success in a Bruins sweater alongside Carlo, adding an element of puck movement on the second pair alongside a defensive defenseman.
The highest upside option to flank McAvoy is second-year defenseman Mason Lohrei. The Baton Rouge, Louisiana, native’s hockey IQ and puck-moving ability are arguably the best on the team, and with him only turning 24 next January, his talents will only increase. In his first season at the NHL level, Lohrei scored four goals and nine assists, giving him 13 points on the season despite being minus three.
As he keeps developing, the former Ohio State Buckeye can play more minutes and possibly take the reins of the power-play quarterback for the top unit. Lohrei certainly brings the highest offensive upside alongside McAvoy out of the three options. The risk with the 6’5” lefty on the top pair is that inexperience, as for a younger player, sheltered minutes is usually the route that teams will go down.
Parker Wotherspoon comes into this season as the projected seventh defenseman after a season where he was a plus-eight in 41 games while averaging 17:43 of ice time. After starting the season in Providence, he was called up in November when Boston was down two defensemen and never looked back. He notched eight assists in the regular season and two in the postseason, where he had a great showing, appearing in 10 games.
While primarily filling in on the bottom pair, Wotherspoon’s showing earned him a one-year, one-million-dollar contract extension with the club. This extension allows him to be the team’s seventh defenseman and play when needed. Wotherspoon finds himself as the team’s seventh defenseman and, in a pinch, can be a sturdy shutdown option for the bottom pair.
The Bruins also fortified their left-shot depth with the signing of Jordan Oesterle, who has 371 games of NHL experience playing for Edmonton, Arizona, Chicago, Detroit, and, most recently, Calgary. Oesterle appeared in 22 games last season for the Flames, recording two assists. With his experience, he could be serviceable as a call-up for injury or underperformance. But Oesterle’s main role in the Bruins organization will be as a veteran presence in Providence, working with the next wave of talent, specifically Frederic Brunet, Ryan Mast, Jackson Edward, Drew Bavaro, and Michael Callahan.
Goaltenders: Jeremy Swayman, Joonas Korpisalo, Brandon Bussi
After dealing 2022-23 Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators back in June, Jeremy Swayman will be the Bruins’ netminder for the upcoming season. Swayman, who split games with Ullmark for the last three seasons, had a fantastic playoff run, starting 12 of the 13 games. He posted a .933 save percentage with a 2.15 goals-against average and kept the team in games when they struggled offensively.
Swayman’s breakout season has earned him a hefty pay raise, which has not been finalized yet, but due to his restricted free agent status, Sweeney sees no rush in signing the Alaska native. Despite not having played more than 44 games in a season, which was his total last season, Swayman has all the traits to be the Bruins’ next franchise netminder.
In the Ullmark trade, Boston acquired goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, who had a down season with the Senators after inking a five-year deal worth 20 million dollars. Boston will not be paying the full salary to the Finland native, as the Senators will retain 25% of the contract annually. Last season, Korpisalo recorded a 3.27 goals against average with a .890 save percentage in 55 appearances behind a weak Senators team.
Under Bruins goaltending coach Bob Essensa, or “Goalie Bob,” Sweeney and company hope that Korpisalo will rebound to his 2022-23 form, where he posted a 2.87 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage splitting time between Columbus and the Los Angeles Kings.
A goalie who could make a push for the backup goaltender position out of training camp is Brandon Bussi. In Providence last season, Bussi appeared in 41 games, posting a 22-10-5 record with a goals-against average of 2.67 and a save percentage of .913. Despite not appearing in a game for Boston last season, Bussi was the backup goaltender when Ullmark went down with an injury in January. He started one preseason game last season for the Bruins, shutting out the New York Rangers in a 3-0 victory, making a stellar save on Jonny Brodzinski when he reached across the net to keep the Rangers off the board.
However, Bussi’s new contract, which was agreed to on June 24th, does not allow him to be waiver-exempt. This means that for him to be sent back down to Providence, he would have to clear waivers and risk being claimed. With that, the question becomes: if he impresses enough to earn a spot on the roster out of camp, do the Bruins carry three netminders, or do they take the chance of placing him on waivers in order to keep developing in Providence?
Leave a Reply