The 2024-25 season was a rough one for the Boston Bruins’ organization. After a slow start across the board that saw head coach Jim Montgomery fired and replaced by Joe Sacco, some guys like David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie were able to get some momentum going and finish the season on a high note. But many on the roster started the season in disappointing fashion and never quite achieved the expected results.
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2025-26 is a reset season for the Bruins. With a new head coach in Marco Sturm and a collection of talented young players that will hopefully finally get a legitimate shot to make a name for themselves, things could right pretty quickly for the franchise. But in order to make that happen, several guys have a lot to prove in 2025-26.
Jeremy Swayman
The top guy that will need to bounce back this season should come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the franchise, let alone the man himself. Boston sports fans and local media are notoriously harsh on goaltenders, and last season Jeremy Swayman faced it head-on. After holding out through the preseason for his new contract, an eight-year deal with an average annual value (AAV) of $8.25 million, the 26-year-old started the season shaky and never quite seemed to get comfortable in the net.
Swayman finished 2024-25 with a 3.11 goals-against average (GAA) and .892 save percentage (SV%), both well below his career averages of 2.58 and .910, respectively. While there were plenty of moments that he just did not look like the goalie we’d come to expect from him, the situation wasn’t helped either by the disappointing performance from the Bruins’ blue line last season.
Still, at the end of the season, Swayman took accountability for his dip in production. Everyone knows that he can play better; now he just has to prove it in 2025-26, and at this point, there is no reason to believe that he can’t bounce back. He went undefeated at the World Championship back in May, helping the USA win their first gold medal at the tournament since 1933. While the level of competition is not quite as high as the NHL, it is still impressive to go a perfect 7-0 at the tournament with a .921 SV% and 1.69 GAA. Mentally, it’s also a huge confidence booster.
2024-25 was a disappointing season for Swayman, no doubt, but too many people are rushing to write him off or argue for the Bruins to get rid of him. He needs to step it up in 2025-26, and at this juncture, there’s little reason to believe he won’t be able to prove himself.
Tanner Jeannot
While the first two guys on this list have a lot to prove based on their disappointing performances in 2024-25, Tanner Jeannot, a new arrival on the roster, will have something to prove thanks to his new contract. He received the biggest contract of this summer’s free agency class, receiving an eye-catching five-year deal with a $3.4 million AAV. While the AAV is pretty fair for a physical forward like himself, especially when taking into consideration the rising salary cap, the term has certainly raised some eyebrows. Five years is a decent amount of time to devote to a bottom-six guy who hasn’t hit more than 20 points since 2021-22.
Jeannot is a solid physical player, but due to his contract and the lack of bona fide scorers brought in by general manager (GM) Don Sweeney this summer, there will be extra pressure on a guy like Jeannot to put up more points in 2025-26. There is reason to believe he can do it, maybe not hitting the highs of his rookie season when he had 24 goals and 41 points, but it isn’t unreasonable to expect him to contribute 10-12 goals and over 20 points.
Jeannot is definitely one of the Bruins players who has something to prove in 2025-26, primarily due to the contract the front office gave him. I think if it were a two or three-year deal, there would be less attention on him. But here we are, and if Sweeney isn’t going to bring in someone who can contribute points in a really significant way to take some pressure off of Pastrnak and Geekie, the focus turns to everyone up and down the roster needing to improve on their 2024-25 numbers.
Matthew Poitras
Matthew Poitras did not have the second NHL season that many were hoping for. While some fingers can be pointed at Sweeney and the Bruins coaching staff for not giving him a ton of opportunities and making some questionable lineup decisions with the young forward, there were moments in 2024-25 he failed to take advantage of or make a lasting impression. He played 33 NHL games last season, the same amount he played in 2023-24 before a shoulder injury prematurely ended his rookie season, but he took a dip across the board in almost all statistics.
Poitras had one goal and 11 points last season in comparison to five goals and 15 points in his rookie year. He went from a 12.5% shooting percentage to just 3.4% in 2024-25. He was a plus-4 in his rookie season and dropped to minus-5 in his second one. The only stat he improved on in 2024-25 is faceoff percentage, rising from 43.7% to 45.7%.
His numbers in the American Hockey League (AHL) last season were solid, registering 17 goals and 41 points in 40 games for the Providence Bruins. There is no reason to believe that he still doesn’t have a lot of potential in the NHL. In 2025-26, his third professional season, hopefully, the 21-year-old will be able to put all the pieces together and get more playing time and opportunities from team management to prove himself in 2025-26.
Waiting Game Until October
Like every team, it is a waiting game now to see if the Bruins will be able to turn things around. It’s no real secret that someone needs to step in 2025-26. Boston lost their third-best point-scorer last season, Brad Marchand, and there is no clear answer to where those points will come from this season.
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While there is significant pressure on guys like Swayman, Poitras, and Jeannot to prove themselves, there is truly a need to get more out of the roster across the board. The forwards need to score way more than they did last season. The blue line needs to be more responsible in their own zone, and the goaltending needs to be much stronger.
Will things improve? There’s reason to think it will, but of course, nobody knows anything until the puck drops in October and the 2025-26 season officially begins.
