Bruins' Mason Lohrei, a $6.4 million contract and that minus-43

New York Times

25-06-2025

The number that is difficult not to notice on Mason Lohrei's stat line is minus-43. The NHL may someday classify plus-minus as a statistical fossil from a blurrier era. Until then, it will remain a dubious marker, specifically for a defenseman such as Lohrei, who led the category at the wrong end.
Plus-minus's inaccuracy, however, can be summed up as such: On Monday, the winner of what is informally known as the NHL's green jacket signed a two-year, $6.4 million extension with the Boston Bruins.
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In 2024-25, both Jim Montgomery and Joe Sacco thought highly enough of Lohrei's offensive firepower that they regularly deployed the defenseman in late-game situations. Opponents pumped pucks into the Bruins' vacated net on 14 of those occasions, pulling Lohrei's plus-minus deeper into the NHL's trough.
'The Bruins, to their credit, did not use that as the only thing they were thinking about, either. We all understand that,' said Brian Bartlett, Lohrei's agent. 'On paper, it wasn't pretty. But if you dig into it, it wasn't nearly as egregious as it looks.'
According to Bartlett, negotiations began several weeks following the conclusion of the regular season. Both employer and employee concluded a bridge deal was the best solution for the 24-year-old, whose entry-level contract was expiring. It gives the Bruins time to determine who Lohrei can become. Lohrei, in turn, will have two windows in which to re-enter the market: after July 1, 2026, with a year left on the deal, or sometime in 2027 at or near the contract's expiration. In either instance, he could have better numbers with which to make his case. He will remain a restricted free agent after this contract.
'We're still very bullish he's got a lot more growth in his game, both offensively and defensively, to round out as a top-four defenseman,' Bartlett said. 'So we weren't really in a rush to do anything long term unless it was at one of those salary numbers where you kind of jump ahead and project him as that guy already. So in our conversations with Boston, when they didn't feel quite ready to make that long-term, big-dollar commitment, we started focusing on what a bridge would look like.'
Mason Lohrei gets in on the goal scoring!
4-0 🇺🇸@NHLBruins | @usahockey | #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/wJYHy1Mpby
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) May 9, 2025
As for Lohrei's $3.2 million yearly payday, his average annual value follows the bridge-deal template of Evan Bouchard ($3.9 million), the Edmonton Oilers' offensive defenseman with a first-round pedigree.
One of the differences is that Bouchard had two 40-plus-point seasons on his resume before he signed his two-year, $7.8 million second contract. In comparison, 2024-25 was Lohrei's first full NHL season. It's harder to say with Lohrei, then, whether his five-goal, 33-point output represents an initial foothold toward an offensive ascent or more of a baseline of what he will become. Lohrei's next step will be to gain new coach Marco Sturm's trust with stouter play in the defensive zone so he can earn more offensive opportunities.
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'I want to be a guy that plays in every single situation,' Lohrei said Tuesday following a training session at Culver Military Academy, his former prep school before he advanced to the USHL. 'I know I can get there. It's just about putting in the work and continuing to learn and grow. I want to start games, finish games, play against the other teams' top players, play a lot of minutes, power play, penalty kill, all that stuff. That's what I want to be.'
Lohrei averaged 19:32 of ice time per game. It was probably more than the Bruins expected him to log. But Lohrei took on extra shifts after Hampus Lindholm suffered a season-ending patella injury on Nov. 12. The 2020 second-rounder became a first-unit PP fixture partly because of Charlie McAvoy's shoulder injury and infection at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
In particular, Lohrei had to assume more matchup assignments than the Bruins would have preferred. The Bruins allowed 2.65 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, per Natural Stat Trick, with Lohrei on the ice. It was the highest xGA per 60 of any team defenseman.
Sturm will have options. He could use Lohrei on the No. 1 pair with McAvoy. If Sturm prefers a shutdown tandem with McAvoy and Nikita Zadorov, he could roll Lohrei on the No. 3 duo. In any case, Lohrei projects to play less than Lindholm and Zadorov, who are better equipped for matchup duty. Lohrei's strengths lean toward offense.
'What the market looked like last year might be very different from what it looks like in two years,' Bartlett said. 'That's a risk we're willing to take based on Mason's faith in himself and our faith in him. The communication with the Bruins is if Mason turns into that guy we all hope that he does, they'll also be happy to pay him whatever the market rate is at that point.'