The 2024-25 season is just a few short months away with rookie camp starting on Sept. 11 and training camp set to open for the Boston Bruins a week later on Sept. 18. There are still a few big items the team needs to tackle before the season starts, most importantly being goaltender Jeremy Swaymans’ contract extension, which remains unsigned as the calendar flips to August.
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Excitement is already rising for the 2024-25 season, and there is plenty to speculate about when it comes to how both the Bruins will do as a team and how they will do as individuals. Last season, they had a number of players, including Charlie Coyle and Morgan Geekie, have career seasons. This season, several guys could potentially step up and put together a career year in either points and/or goals.
Morgan Geekie
As mentioned above, Geekie had the best season of his career in 2023-24. His previous career highs in goals and points came the prior season, 2022-23, when he had nine goals and 28 points in 69 games for the Seattle Kraken. He greatly improved on that with the Bruins last season, registering 17 goals and 39 points in 76 games. But I don’t think he’s reached his peak yet and he’ll be able to improve on his stats for the third season in a row.
Geekie played all over the lineup in 2023-24, spending time at center and on the wings, on the third line and even got some chances on the first. He proved himself to be very adaptable, but going into this upcoming season, there is a really good chance that he will be a consistent presence in the top six, allowing him to really get some chemistry going with the top talent on the Bruins’ roster. Right now, some very early projections have him playing on the second line with Brad Marchand and Coyle. Not a bad combination right there.
I think it is very reasonable to go into the 2024-25 season believing that Geekie can reach the impressive 20-goal mark for the first time. He was only three off from hitting it last season and with more minutes, and staying healthy for all 82 games, that is very much within reach. It would also be impressive to see him in the 40-50 point range.
It is also important to note that Geekie is entering the second year of the two-year deal he signed with the Bruins last summer, meaning he will also be playing for a new contract in 2024-25. While some players do buckle under the pressure of a contract year, there are still plenty that rise to the occasion and put up their best numbers. It will be interesting to see what he does with the added expectations.
Brandon Carlo
Brandon Carlo was the most impressive defenseman for the Bruins in the 2024 Playoffs. Call it new dad strength or just a really great stretch of games for him, he impressed in the 13 postseason games the team played. He had three goals and four total points and was a plus-4. While three goals may not seem like a ton, for a guy like Carlo whose career high in a regular season is six, it’s a pretty significant number.
Carlo’s game is never going to be a big attention grabber as he is more of a stay-at-home defenseman. But in his eight years in Boston, he has become an integral part of the blue line. When he’s not on the ice, the Bruins are a way worse team and his importance only continues to rise for the team.
He will never be a huge point-getter for the Bruins, but it would be awesome to see him surpass the 20-point mark for a season for the first time in his career in 2024-25. He had 14 points last season, but a healthy 2024-25 that builds on the impressive offensive performance he had in the playoffs would put that easily in reach.
Matthew Poitras
This one is a bit of a cheat considering Matthew Poitras is only entering his second season, but I think there is a lot of reason to be excited to see how he grows in his second NHL season. There were highs and lows in his rookie season, the lowest of course being when it was cut short in February due to shoulder surgery.
Poitras enters the 2024-25 season no longer a teenager after turning 20 back in March. He’s bigger, stronger, and brings 33 games of experience under his belt. In that time, he had five goals and 15 points, putting him just under a 0.5 points per game pace, not bad for a teenager in the NHL.
Poitras was one of the most exciting aspects of the Bruins’ 2023-24 season, and I think the excitement around him will only grow in 2024-25. He had some really good games and moments last season, and most importantly, he demonstrated an ability to recover from the bad moments and plays. That attitude will continue to serve him well as he comes into his own in the NHL. His sophomore season will hopefully see another step forward in his career. I think Bruins fans should be ecstatic if he finishes somewhere around 15 goals and 40 points for 2024-25.
Stanley Cup Window is Still Open
Overall, the Bruins will once again be a team to watch in the 2024-25 season. They have the superstars in David Pastrnak, Charlie McAvoy, and Swayman, young up-and-comers in Poitras and Mason Lohrei, and some intriguing new faces in Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov that address areas of weakness from last season. This is a talented and competitive roster that will only be helped by unexpected guys stepping up like several did last season.
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General manager Don Sweeney has made some questionable decisions this offseason, but this team still has a shot at the Stanley Cup. It will be tough, of course, particularly with the reigning Stanley Cup champions in the Bruins’ division, but there is a lot to be excited about when the puck officially drops and the 2024-25 season begins in October.
