BOSTON — The Bruins are hoping that a new coach, a new system and some new players will help them at least start to build back to playoff contender status after bottoming out a year ago.
For it to come together, they’ll need those new players and several guys who were on the roster a year ago to be better or at least healthier.
Below are five Bruins whose play will have a significant impact on the 2025-26 season.
Jeremy Swayman
If the Bruins are going to win by preventing goals at an elite level, they’ll certainly need their goalie to return to the All-Star form he showed in 2023-24.
After his rough season a year ago, Swayman helped lead Team USA to the World Championships. He’s had a strong camp and could benefit from a healthier defense and better structure around him.
Casey Mittelstadt
Acquired at the trade deadline last year, Mittelstadt has always shown high-end offensive talent, but he’s lacked consistency and has struggled to be effective defensively.
But on a Bruins team that will need to find enough offense, they’ll hope the 26-year-old is ready to take another step.
If not, the Bruins could have a hard time finding enough secondary scoring to be competitive.
Hampus Lindholm
The Bruins badly missed Lindholm last year when his early knee injury turned into a season-ender. When he’s healthy, he can captain a power play, kill a penalty and play a lot of productive minutes.
His return could give Boston one of the best defensive units in the entire NHL.
Viktor Arvidsson
The forward that the Bruins acquired via trade had a quiet preseason, but Arvidsson is riding shotgun on Boston’s second line with Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha.
The 32-year-old has scored 20 goals in a season five times in his career. The Bruins would love to see him approach that.
Elias Lindholm
Was his resurgence at the end of the season a sign of things to come? Was he finally comfortable and ready to increase his offensive contributions or was it simply a hot streak for a guy when the games didn’t matter anymore?
Lindholm has had a good preseason and seems to be benefiting from a fresh start with a new coach and system. He’s never going to be a 40-goal scorer again like he was for one season in Calgary, but 20ish goals, plus good defense and strong distribution to David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, would go a long way.
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