3 questions facing Boston Bruins

NHL.com is providing in-depth analysis for each of its 32 teams from Aug. 1-Sept. 1. Today, three important questions facing the Boston Bruins.

1. Is there enough around forward David Pastrnak?

Pastrnak had 106 points (43 goals, 63 assists) last season, tied for third in the NHL with Leon Draisaitl (106 points; 52 goals, 54 assists) and behind Nikita Kucherov (121 points; 37 goals, 84 assists) and Nathan MacKinnon (116 points; 32 goals, 84 assists).

Still, Boston struggled to score. Pastrnak had 49 points more than forward Morgan Geekie, who was second with 57 (33 goals, 24 assists). Pastrnak and Geekie scored 76 of the Bruins’ 222 goals (34 percent).

Of the offseason additions, forward Viktor Arvidsson was the most productive last season with 27 points (15 goals, 12 assists) in 67 games for the Edmonton Oilers. He was acquired in a trade from Edmonton on July 1 for a fifth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft.

That leaves familiar faces responsible for any offensive uptick.

“We were going to put together a competitive team to bring in some juice back in here,” general manager Don Sweeney said. “That applies to elevating our current guys, them feeling reinvigorated coming off of some injuries and a very down year. Just the response to that, having those guys, and realizing just how excited some of these guys are to get here.

“Maybe it is from the bottom up, but the juice is coming and we expect to be a much more competitive team. The improvements now come from within.”

2. Can Marco Sturm bring back the Bruins way?

The defense equally struggled.

Boston allowed 3.30 goals per game, ranking 26th in the NHL. The season prior, its defense was one of the League’s best, giving up an average of 2.70 goals, tied with the Vancouver Canucks for fifth-best.

Sweeney said the Bruins were too often an “easy out” last season.

Enter Sturm, who was hired June 5 to replace interim coach Joe Sacco. A forward for Boston from 2005-10, Sturm said he is well aware of what has made the Bruins stand out and what needs to quickly return.

“I already talked to a bunch of guys, my veterans on the current team right now,” Sturm said, “and I can tell right away they learn from (Patrice) Bergeron, they learn from (Zdeno) Chara, because they already have it in there and that really got me excited, too. And I know we've just got to guide them again and again.”

3. Will Jeremy Swayman rebound?

In his fifth season, the 26-year-old goalie was 22-29-7 with a 3.11 goals-against average and .892 save percentage, each his worst in the NHL. He was 2-8-1 in his final 11 starts, allowing at least four goals seven times.

Swayman missed training camp while negotiating an eight-year, $66 million contract ($8.25 million average annual value) signed Oct. 6. He then played an NHL career-high 58 games, up from 44 games (43 starts) when he was an NHL All-Star with a 2.53 GAA and .916 save percentage in 2023-24.

The increased workload wasn’t an issue, he said, and would be welcome again this season.

“I can play better,” Swayman said on April 17. “That’s something that I can’t wait to work on. This team is going to be a lot different next year with what we learned from this year. We’ve got a lot to look forward to.”