Projecting the Boston Bruins Lineup for the 2025-26 Season

By: Lucas Kaestner | Follow me on Twitter / X @lucaskaes22

In the 2024-2025 season, the Boston Bruins did not make the playoffs. This is putting it lightly. In reality, the Bruins finished last in the Atlantic Division this season. This was a shocking result for management as well as fans. The expectation for the team each year is to make a run for the Stanley Cup, especially with their major pieces being in their prime with a great supporting cast, or so it seemed.

With all the moves General Manager Don Sweeney and company made at this year’s trade deadline, it is clear the Bruins are making major changes to the roster going forward. We will look at the potential opening-night lineup for the 2025-2026 Boston Bruins.

As the Stanley Cup Playoffs rage into the Finals, Bruins fans wonder why their favorite team did not even make it to the playoffs. We all know defense wins championships. The Bruins management staff has historically built the team around defense. This was evident with last offseason’s moves, including signing two-way forward Elias Lindholm, described as a Bergeron-esque player, and Nikita Zadorov, a hard-nosed defensive defenseman who lays the body. It is possible that management is finally seeing the problem at hand that they have struggled to fix with what seems like the last decade: the game is getting faster.

Around the time of this year’s trade deadline, the Bruins traded away Justin Brazeau, Trent Frederic, and Charlie Coyle. All of which are power forward players that play a slower, stronger-on-the-puck defensive game. Frederic and Coyle, in particular, struggled offensively at times this past season. Brazeau had a decent start to the season, playing mostly on the second line and scoring ten goals before being traded, four of which came on the power-play. He started to struggle, at times seemed invisible, and was ultimately dropped down the lineup and then traded.

The Bruins also traded defenseman Brandon Carlo and their Captain, Brad Marchand, both of whom are great defensive players at their respective positions. Marchand’s contract was coming to an end, and both sides have struggled to find common ground on terms and salary. He was traded to the Florida Panthers for a conditional second-round pick, which is now a first-round pick because those conditions were met, and he will now compete for a Stanley Cup. The offer for Carlo was too good to pass up for rebuilding for the future, and while a great stay-at-home defenseman, the Bruins have plenty of those. Perhaps Don is hoping to become more of a puck-transitioning defensive core.

The returns on all of these trades were pretty good, considering the talent and experience they gave to Stanley Cup contenders, including hated rivals. The Bruins received several high draft picks and a mix of NHL players and prospects. For this article, we will focus on those pieces that have a chance to be in the lineup to start next season.

The Bruins have some money to work with and have many decisions to make. The hope is that Bruins management uses the money wisely in free agency, re-signing good players, and obviously not overpaying them. However, with some money to spend, we have to hope he also does not low-ball a player and miss out on their services for the future.

Let’s start with the top-six forward lines. Sweeney has several options in free agency, see the image above from @BruinsCapSpace and see the article written by Ryan Bosworth @RyanBosworth: “Five Unrestricted Free Agents the Boston Bruins Could Target This Offseason” https://x.com/RyanJBosworth/status/1919189388962955323.

For the first line, I imagine Don gets a team-friendly deal done with Morgan Geekie for $5-6 million per year to play on the left wing of Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak. Another option would be Nikolaj Ehlers on that wing and Geekie on the second line.

For the sake of this article and what I think is most likely, I am going to continue with Ryan’s points about Brock Boeser (see his article above for more). He would slot in at the second line right wing and add great scoring depth there that the Bruins have been lacking since the Nathan Horton days. There, he would play with Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt, who was acquired at the deadline in the Charlie Coyle trade with the Colorado Avalanche.

This season will be Mittelstadt’s contract year, so it will be exciting to see how he does. If he does well with the team and the new coach, perhaps they will keep him and trade some of their younger playmaking centers in the system. See below for a Mittelstadt assist to Pastrnak on the power play.

For the third line, I believe Fraser Minten, who was acquired in the Brandon Carlo trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, will start as the third-line center. The Bruins are high on him for his 200-foot game. Next to him on the right wing, I like Fabian Lysell to finally get steady NHL ice time this season, including power-play time. I also like Marat Khusnutdinov, who was acquired in the Justin Brazeau trade with the Minnesota Wild for the left wing.

A young, fast, playmaking line instead of the historical defensive lines consisting of Coyle, Frederic, Heinen, etc., will be a big change of pace for the Bruins. I think this season, being what it was, Bruins management is finally going to give their young offensive players a shot. But, Sweeney usually surprises us all with a signing of a depth player that is good at defense, so I can imagine Minten with John Beecher, Cole Koepke, or another defensive forward from free agency.

For the fourth line, I like the idea of Jakub Lauko, Beecher, and Mark Kastelic. This line’s defense, grit, speed, and energy will be fun to watch, just like this year’s bottom offensive trio. Beecher and Lauko’s offensive flashes at the end of the season were promising as well, and I could see them succeed while playing some third-line minutes in the event of injuries.

Moving onto the defensive core, obviously, injuries hurt them this season, but with a fully healthy squad, each player should have a jump in their play. Hampus Lindholm will be flying around on his new, fully healed knee cap after only playing 17 games last year. Perhaps with the new coach, he will be encouraged to jump into the play more often. Charlie McAvoy, playing with him on the top pair, is obviously the Bruins’ best defenseman and will look to make a new impact, possibly as the next Captain of the club.

Zadorov is coming off a penalty-riddled season, but he emerged as a leader when so many leaders were hurt or traded away. He will look to continue that trend of leadership, defensive play, and physical play. I imagine the Bruins either re-sign Henri Jokiharju to be his second-pair partner or sign a puck-moving defenseman, such as Dmitry Orlov, who is already familiar with the system.

Rounding out the defensive core is Andrew Peeke, who ground out tough minutes with all the injuries to the Bruins this season. He always seemed to make the right decisions back there. Alongside him is the offensive defenseman Mason Lohrei. He had a tough year defensively, seeming to always give up the two-on-one goals against, ending the year with a -43.

However, it was a great experience for the young kid who had to step up and sometimes play top-line minutes. He also emerged as a power-play quarterback, tallying 33 points, 16 of which came on the power-play. With another year on his belt, a healthy group around him, he should be put in the right places to succeed.

The healthy scratches for the club will be up for debate. There are a dozen players I could name, but I will instead talk about the goaltending. Obviously, Jeremy Swayman will be the starter. The question is, who will be his backup? I imagine Don moves on from Joonas Korpisalo. There are rumors he is unhappy with the play time he received this season, and other rumors that teams have already approached the Bruins about his availability.

It would be in Sweeney’s best interest to take the deal, in my opinion, in order to free up that $3 million in cap space and give Michael DiPietro that backup role. He certainly is ready to play at the NHL level in a support role to Swayman after posting a 0.927% Save Percentage and 2.05 Goals Against Average in the 2024-25 regular season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.

To wrap up, GM Don Sweeney and company have a lot on their plate. It will be interesting to see what moves they make. But, I project this to be the starting lineup.

Geekie-E. Lindholm-Pastrnak(A)

Zacha-Mittelstadt-Boeser

Khusnutdinov-Minten-Lysell

Lauko-Beecher-Kastelic

H. Lindholm(A)-McAvoy(C)

Zadorov-Jokiharju

Lohrei-Peeke

Swayman

Dipietro

While this lineup lacks a veteran presence, this young team can play and has the potential to grow. With the right coaches and more development, they could definitely make a run at the postseason this upcoming year.