By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
There’s no denying it; the Bruins have clear deficiencies throughout their roster. From a true number one center, to reliable defensemen in their bottom-four, especially on the right side. There are solid pieces they can build around — David Pastrnak, James Hagens, Charlie McAvoy, and Jeremy Swayman — but, for their areas of need, there are certainly some question marks.
The Bruins do have some depth throughout their organization. Last summer, they extended right-hand defenseman Henri Jokiharju through the 2027-28 season. It was on short money, at just $3 million per year, but they clearly had the intent of using the right-hand defenseman in their bottom-four, but he would go on to only play 41 games this season.
Andrew Peeke is one of the Bruins’ two unrestricted free agents, and he saw some more ice time than Jokiharju this season, playing in 77 games this season and appearing in all six postseason games for the Bruins. He proved to be more effective than Jokiharju this season, and was serviceable on their bottom pairing.
The Bruins have, obviously, two routes they can take with Peeke — resign or let him walk — and while it may be easy to jump the gun and say let him walk, there are a couple of factors to consider before making that call. And, after looking at those factors, there could be a real argument behind keeping Andrew Peeke around for your bottom pair.
The right-handed defenseman market has been extremely thin for a couple seasons now, and even more so for the Bruins, but them finding an upgrade over Andrew Peeke before finding a second-pair right-hand defenseman doesn’t seem like it would have much success. The two major factors in keeping Andrew Peeke around are cost and familiarity.
Cost
Peeke is already playing on an inexpensive contract. Signing a three-year, $8.25 million contract before the 2023-24 season, then being traded to Boston at the 2024 deadline, Peeke has played just over two seasons at just $2.75 million per year. If the Bruins were to resign Peeke, it would likely be short money.
Especially when looking at Jokiharju’s contract, which is just $3 million per year, Peeke wouldn’t earn much more than that. I’d guess somewhere around the $3.5-$4 million range, and with the cap rising year after year, that’s going to age just fine.
Familiarity
Another big factor at play is the familiarity both Peeke and Boston have with one another. He’s proven that, most of the time, he can play a style of hockey that can be effective in a bottom-pairing role.
Asking him to play in an elevated top-four role is a bit of a tall ask, but if you’re able to limit him to a bottom-pair role with someone like Nikita Zadorov, as the two complimented each other pretty well, then you’re maximizing your return on Peeke.
As mentioned, Zadorov and Peeke made a decent bottom pair. The two had 499:17 of ice time during the 2025-26 regular season, which led all pairs that took the ice this season, and they led the playoffs as well. During that 499:17 of ice time, they saw 508 total shot attempts, and only saw 15 goals against. While the numbers aren’t outstanding, Zadorov and Peeke proved they could be a serviceable bottom pair.
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