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Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bruins linked to Connor McDavid and record-setting 7-year contract ahead of pivotal choice
Don't count out anyone when it comes to the possible Connor McDavid sweepstakes of next offseason. If the Edmonton Oilers superstar doesn't sign a new contract after his current deal is up at the end of the 2025-26 season, everyone will be interested. Advertisement The Boston Bruins would certainly be on that list. Bleacher Report sees Boston as a possibility, explaining it like this: Even though they have rapidly arrived in the NHL's mushy middle of mediocrity, the Bruins do not seem prepared to start rebuilding or tearing things down. To be more than what they were this past season and more than what their roster figures to look like this upcoming season, they'll need a game-changing No. 1 center. That has been their biggest need since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, and the likes of Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm are not going to satisfy it. McDavid obviously would. The Bruins are in a big market and are an Original Six franchise that still has eyes on winning. That could potentially be appealing to McDavid. The Bruins are listed last on the B/R list. They're probably a bit of a long shot compared to a team like the Maple Leafs or Rangers. MORE: Red Wings forward announces shock NHL retirement at age 28 But there will likely be a number of factors at play here. McDavid will surely get a record-setting contract, potentially of the max seven-year variety (or eight years in a sign-and-trade). He'll have to make the huge choice to leave Edmonton, of course. But if he does that, anything could happen, even a joining with the Bruins. Advertisement MORE NHL NEWS:
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bruins linked to Connor McDavid and record-setting 7-year contract ahead of pivotal choice
Don't count out anyone when it comes to the possible Connor McDavid sweepstakes of next offseason. If the Edmonton Oilers superstar doesn't sign a new contract after his current deal is up at the end of the 2025-26 season, everyone will be interested. Advertisement The Boston Bruins would certainly be on that list. Bleacher Report sees Boston as a possibility, explaining it like this: Even though they have rapidly arrived in the NHL's mushy middle of mediocrity, the Bruins do not seem prepared to start rebuilding or tearing things down. To be more than what they were this past season and more than what their roster figures to look like this upcoming season, they'll need a game-changing No. 1 center. That has been their biggest need since Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, and the likes of Casey Mittelstadt, Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm are not going to satisfy it. McDavid obviously would. The Bruins are in a big market and are an Original Six franchise that still has eyes on winning. That could potentially be appealing to McDavid. The Bruins are listed last on the B/R list. They're probably a bit of a long shot compared to a team like the Maple Leafs or Rangers. MORE: Red Wings forward announces shock NHL retirement at age 28 But there will likely be a number of factors at play here. McDavid will surely get a record-setting contract, potentially of the max seven-year variety (or eight years in a sign-and-trade). He'll have to make the huge choice to leave Edmonton, of course. But if he does that, anything could happen, even a joining with the Bruins. Advertisement MORE NHL NEWS:
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Matt Vautour: For Bruins fans, Brad Marchand's second Stanley Cup is both joyful and sad
As they watched Brad Marchand take the Stanley Cup from Sergei Bobrovsky after the Panthers finished off the Oilers in Game 6 on Tuesday, hockey fans in New England absorbed the scene with a mixture of joy and regret. The reasons for both were obvious. Advertisement Joy because a beloved former Bruin won the Stanley Cup that he so badly coveted. Regret because things have sunk badly enough in Boston that his celebration had to happen somewhere else. For the better part of the past 20 years, Marchand embodied what it meant to be a Bruin. He's played bigger and tougher than most players in his weight class. He thrived at both ends of the ice and was at his best in the biggest spots. He was a revered teammate and an incredibly loathsome opponent. For most of his career, he was on a path to spend his entire career in Boston before the team eventually raised his No. 63 to the TD Garden rafters. In 2023, when the Bruins ran away with the Presidents' Trophy, it looked like Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, etc. would get a chance to win that second Stanley Cup in Boston or at least make a legit run at it. But Florida stunned them that year and, in the process, ripped away their status as the Atlantic Division's best team going forward. Advertisement Meanwhile, Boston's fade from contention happened fast, putting them in a spot where trading their aging captain at the deadline was their best move. Marchand isn't done. This postseason potentially earned him around $30 million when free agency hits next month and it probably helped his chances of making Team Canada for next year's Olympics in Italy. But his priority was always about winning another Stanley Cup. Everything that follows will be epilogue in Marchand's story. Fourteen years after he lifted the trophy as a brash kid, Marchand raised it above his head again as a respected veteran. It's a great story, but it ended in the wrong place. But Tom Brady won a Super Bowl in Tampa as the Patriots crumbled behind him. Mookie Betts has won two championships with the Dodgers while the Red Sox are in disarray and now Marchand is celebrating in Florida in the same year that the Bruins finished last in the Atlantic Division. Advertisement It's another sad reminder that the amazing run of titles that started this century in Boston is over. While it's been a popular narrative to compare this to Ray Bourque winning with the Colorado Avalanche in 2001, this is different. Yes, Marchand, like Bourque, is an aging beloved former Bruins captain who was traded elsewhere for one more shot at a Stanley Cup. But unlike Bourque, Marchand didn't ask or want to be moved. Marchand had won a Cup before and Bourque wasn't traded to a team that Bruins fans hate. This was more like if Larry Bird or Kevin McHale had ended up on the Bad Boys era Detroit Pistons. Advertisement Nationally, this playoff run for Marchand has been a true celebration of his evolution from controversial, line-straddling star/rat to a begrudgingly respected elder statesman bound for the Hall of Fame. Marchand was terrific in the finals. He was very good and very under control. He had 10 goals, including two in overtime, and 10 assists in the playoffs, including six goals and no penalty minutes in the finals. Now, Florida forever owns a piece of the Marchand story, which had long been a Boston exclusive. He'll be loved in South Florida the way Mark Recchi or Orlando Cabrera are in Boston. If somebody made a Brad Marchand biopic, he'd be wearing a red Panthers jersey during the movie's climactic final scene. Some of the indelible images of Marchand's career now are alongside Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennet, not just Patrice Bergeron. His signature Stanley Cup performance came this year, not in 2011. Advertisement For Bruins fans, that's sad. More Matt Vautour Columns Read the original article on MassLive.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
2025 NHL mock draft roundup: Final No. 7 pick predictions for Bruins
2025 NHL mock draft roundup: Final No. 7 pick predictions for Bruins originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston The 2025 NHL Draft is of the utmost importance to the Boston Bruins. They have the No. 7 overall pick — their highest first-round selection since 2011. If the Bruins keep the pick and don't trade it, the position they need to target is center. Advertisement The Bruins were lucky to have a top-tier center tandem in Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci for well over a decade. The franchise has been unable to draft a worthy replacement for either player, but that drought could end this year. The 2025 draft class is loaded with quality centers. We might even see seven of them taken in the top 10 picks. A talented wing such as Porter Martone or Victor Eklund could be enticing, but the Bruins desperately need a top-six center, and given how expensive that kind of player is to acquire via trade or free agency, the most effective way to get one is through the draft. Which players should the Bruins consider with the No. 7 pick? Here's a roundup of projections from recent expert mock drafts. Nick Goss, NBC Sports Boston: Jake O'Brien, C, Brantford (OHL) 'It's no secret the Bruins need a center. They haven't drafted well at that position for a long time. Luckily for the B's, they have a top 10 pick (their first since 2011) in a draft that's loaded with quality centers. Advertisement O'Brien is the best center available at this point in Round 1. He has a really strong two-way skill set with the high-end offensive talent to consistently create scoring chances for himself and teammates. He tallied 66 assists in 66 games for Brantford last season.' Corey Pronman, The Athletic: Roger McQueen, C, Brandon (WHL) 'Despite their needs, I don't think Boston is as hard pressed to take a center here as the organizations in front of them, in part because six centers in a row just got picked. I could see the Bruins lean toward winger Martone or defenseman Radim Mrtka for that reason but it wouldn't surprise me as well if they took another center. McQueen, O'Brien and Hagens would all be possible fits here.' Scott Wheeler, The Athletic: James Hagens, C, Boston College (NCAA) 'Everyone I've talked to in the last week or so seems to think O'Brien/Martin/Hagens don't get past the Flyers and Bruins at 6-7, and yet one of the top eight guys has to go outside the top seven. I've also heard the Bruins have looked into moving up. I do think it's interesting that the Flyers and Bruins seem to like the same three guys and pick back-to-back, though, and Hagens just makes so much sense for the Bruins as that high-end piece to build around if he's there.' Lyle Richardson, Bleacher Report: Victor Eklund, RW, Djurgarden (Sweden) 'With only one natural right wing among their top 15 prospects, the Boston Bruins could use this opportunity to address that particular need. They could turn to Victor Eklund of the SHL's Djurgårdens IF. NHL Central Scouting ranked him No. 2 among international skaters. Advertisement 'Eklund is the younger brother of San Jose Sharks forward William Eklund. The 5'11', 170-pound Swede had 31 points in 42 games this season for Djurgårdens' HockeyAllsvenskan squad, helping them earn promotion to the SHL alongside teammate and fellow NHL prospect Anton Frondell. ' Mike G. Morreale considers him to be the second-best right wing in this year's draft. Corey Pronman praised Eklund's speed and creativity, while Steven Ellis cited his playmaking and excellent shot. Eklund will likely spend next season with Djurgårdens IF, where he'll garner valuable experience against SHL talent. He has the potential to become a top-six right wing for the Bruins.' Alex Daugherty, The Tennessean: Jake O'Brien, C, Brantford (OHL) 'The Bruins need to reload up the middle and O'Brien has the potential to be a top-six center that can lead the way. He had 98 points in 66 games with the Bulldogs last season.' Sam Russell, Bleacher Nation: Brady Martin, C, Sault Ste. Marie (OHL) 'Martin is an accomplished two-way player and has solid defensive instincts. His game doesn't involve any unnecessary risks and is good at cutting passing lanes in the neutral zone.'
Yahoo
30-01-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NHL Trade Deadline Needs: Boston Bruins And Florida Panthers
The paths of the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers have crossed in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the last two seasons. In 2023, the Panthers barely squeaked into the playoffs but upset the Presidents' Trophy-winning Bruins in a first-round, seventh-game overtime thriller. Last season, the Panthers won the Atlantic Division and faced Boston in the second round, but Florida outlasted the B's in six games. This season, the defending Cup-champion Panthers have a roster depleted by key players leaving in free agency, while Boston has struggled to fill the leadership and scoring void created by the departures of Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Zdeno Chara. Here are the main and secondary areas of need that each club is likely to address before the March 7 NHL trade deadline: Due to cap restrictions, the Panthers lost power-play quarterback Brandon Montour and veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson in July. They replaced them with bargain-basement additions Nate Schmidt and Latvian Uvis Balinskis, who split the previous season between Florida and AHL Charlotte. Making a defensive upgrade will be challenging for Florida GM Bill Zito because the club has just over $1 million in cap space and no picks in the first three rounds of the 2025 NHL draft, according to PuckPedia. Zito has accomplished the difficult task of keeping his core forward group of Aleksander Barkov, Sam Reinhart, Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe intact. The Panthers also have a useful secondary group of Sam Bennett, Evan Rodrigues and Eetu Luostarinen. The free-agent replacements for useful energy forwards, such as Nick Cousins, Ryan Lomberg and Steven Lorentz, have fallen short. The Panthers' advantage is that fourth-liners are relatively inexpensive and can be acquired with their low-round Bruins went from being second in the NHL in goals-for in 2023 to 13th last season to 26th this season with 2.71 goals-for per game. The traditionally stingy Boston defense has also declined. Currently, both Bruins goalies have a sub .900 save percentage, but it is expected the club will improve in the second half and that Jeremy Swayman will begin to resemble the goalie who earned an eight-year extension right before the season. Part of the club's offensive issues are the pedestrian numbers put up by center Elias Lindholm and the lack of a replacement for Jake DeBrusk. GM Don Sweeney must add a scorer who can take some of the heat off David Pastrnak and Brad Bruins are expected to have both of their top blueliners, Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, back before the 4 Nations Face-Off begins on Feb. 12. With the addition of Nikita Zadorov to go along with Andrew Peeke, Brandon Carlo and Mason Lohrei, Boston should be solid enough defensively. The departure of veteran forwards James van Riemsdyk and Danton Heinen hurt the Bruins' forward depth. Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic have also produced at a lower rate than last year. The Bruins will need to add another forward to provide some secondary scoring in the bottom six as well. Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on or by visiting our forum.
