By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
It’s officially September, which means it’s officially the month the National Hockey League and the Boston Bruins kick off the 2026-27 season. Ahead of the first puck drop of the season, I wanted to throw some predictions out there, and then revisit after the conclusion of the season.
The Bruins have been all over the map when it comes to predictions. Some have the Bruins finishing the season at around the same spot as the 2025-26 season, and some predictions have seen the Bruins falling into the middle of the pack, finishing around 20th in the league and missing playoffs. Lets kick it off with prediction number one:
Morgan Geekie will score 30 goals
Kicking off the list with one that seems somewhat given. Morgan Geekie has had back-to-back 30+ goal campaigns, as he followed up his career-high year in 2024-25, where he scored 33 goals, with a 39-goal campaign in the 2025-26 season.
I don’t think he’ll reach the 40-goal mark, though I do believe he’s going to finish somewhere in the 30-35 goal range. The Bruins’ success is definitely dependent on Geekie being a top-six performer, and for most of the previous two years, he’s answered the call. I don’t see any reason for him not to produce at a similar rate this year.
The Bruins will make the playoffs
Prediction number two may be the most controversial take, as I do think the Bruins will clinch a spot. A lot of takes I’ve seen have pegged how competitive the Atlantic Division will be this year as a main reason for the Bruins to fall out of playoff contention, but I just don’t see it happening.
The Bruins improved their roster when they acquired J.J. Peterka. The young players, assuming they earn their spots in training camp, played a huge role for the Bruins’ middle-six this past season, and your defense corps didn’t get any worse. They made a couple of lateral moves, but I would argue their ceiling was only heightened in those moves. Their floor may have been slightly lowered, as some defenseman could see a regression from 2025-26 (perhaps Jonathan Aspirot), but regardless, it should remain about the same.
As for goaltending, Jeremy Swayman had a strong bounce-back year and with Joonas Korpisalo no longer on the tanden and the extreme likelihood of Michael DiPietro winning the battle for backup goaltender, the Bruins’ backend should be solid this year, and they should be a tough out.
Jeremy Swayman will win the Vezina
Building on his bounce-back year, where he was a Vezina finalist, I could absolutely see a scenario where Jeremy Swayman is the best goaltender in the National Hockey League. There was absolutely a case to be made that he was the best goaltender when it came to specific metrics, like high-danger shots, but I digress. This year is the year Swayman gets it done.
Matt Poitras gets traded
This one may cause some to bring the pitchforks. However, I just don’t see a long-term plan for Matt Poitras in Boston. He’s had three years to crack the lineup during training camp and didn’t fully do it. 2023 was certainly his best start to a season, but he would go on to get injured and miss the rest of the 2023-24 season. In 2024, he’d start the year with Boston but would eventually get sent down to Providence.
Poitras would start the 2025-26 season in Providence, and he was called up at the start of 2026 and played just three games. It was definitely the most confident that he looked on NHL ice, however, he wasn’t good enough to push for another young player’s job. I just don’t see a scenario where he’ll be able to push someone like Fraser Minten or Marat Khusnutdinov out of their job.
James Hagens finishes top-five in Calder voting
For my final prediction, I wanted to include James Hagens in one way or another. While I don’t think he’ll win the Calder Trophy, I do think he’ll be in the running, finishing within the top-five. I thought about going top-ten, but Hagens is an excellent hockey player. If he brings his full toolkit to training camp and makes the team out of camp, I don’t see any scenario where he finishes the season at lower than fifth in Calder voting.
Last year, Fraser Minten finished tenth in voting, and he wasn’t on anyone’s radar to start the season. This year, expectations for Hagens are certainly high, and while that sometimes make-or-breaks a players’ season, I don’t see that happening for Hagens. I think he’ll answer the call and be an impact player in the middle-six for the Bruins this year.
Leave a Reply