Sturm has been candid when it comes to the limitations facing a team in transition.
A Boston squad that ranked 27th in the NHL in goals scored per game (2.71) last year is likely short at least two or three high-impact forwards on this present roster.
But the Bruins have a template to follow if they want to be playing meaningful hockey this spring:
Regain Boston’s identity as a stingy, defensive-first club.
Identity younger players or depressed assets who can supplement the established talent in place.
Spark a Bruins power play that finished 29th in the league with just a 15.2 percent success rate.
Boston should be able to tighten up a defensive structure that floundered without Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm last season.
On special teams, new coach Steve Spott will be tasked with augmenting a man advantage that too often struggled to gain clean entries — or predictably ran most plays through Pastrnak in hopes that his blistering one-timer would keep an impotent power play afloat.
For Sturm and his staff, sizable tweaks might have to be prescribed, especially in terms of adjusting the team’s longstanding zone defense and neutral-zone structure.
The 2025-26 Bruins aren’t going to be the ‘84 Oilers. But a renewed emphasis on shot volume and forechecking pressure could help boost their chances of generating scoring chances at 5-on-5 play.
The expectationis that the Bruins will keep a top line of Elias Lindholm, Davis Pastrnak, and Morgan Geekie intact — especially after they outscored opponents 16-2 in 5-on-5 play after Boston’s trade-deadline teardown.
After that, it’s anyone’s guess as to how Sturm will fill out a lineup that has few certainties. The Bruins have to sort through the established NHLers in place and how best to build out the club’s middle-six forward corps.
A former 30-goal scorer in Viktor Arvidsson is seemingly set to log reps on the second line. But will it be Casey Mittelstadt feeding him passes, or will it be Pavel Zacha down the middle?
Could Matej Blumel — the AHL’s leading goal-scorer with 39 last summer — earn a spot on the wing and inject some much-needed scoring?
And will Boston’s third line be a landing spot for some youngsters, or where the Bruins’ free-agent bruisers like Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mikey Eyssimont reside?
The Bruins will have to wait until at least the springtime for a chance to see top 2025 draft pick James Hagens don a black-and-gold sweater.
But they should have ample opportunity this winter to see if a few other prospects in their emerging pipeline can stick.
Even with the logjam of forwards on the camp roster, younger players like Fraser Minten and Matt Poitras should be given extended looks during preseason action.
Minten has the makings of a future stalwart at third-line center, even if he must leapfrog a few older players this fall before carving out that role. And if Mittelstadt can’t make the most of his reps down the middle, a younger playmaker like Poitras could get some run as well — with his poise with the puck potentially meshing well with a shot-heavy winger like Arvidsson.
On the wing, Fabian Lysell might be starting a consequential fall when it comes to whether or not his pro career will continue in Boston. A Bruins team short on high-end skill and skating would welcome him seizing the opportunity, while a 25-year-old winger like Blumel could develop into a middle-six cog if his offensive talents translate to the NHL level.
Much like how Poitras surprised many a few years ago and accelerated his timeline with a strong preseason, keep tabs on Dans Locmelis, who could also turn some heads this fall after thriving during his limited time with Providence last spring (12 points in six games).
The Bruins’ path toward being a competitive club amid their expected scoring flaws rests in the team winning low-event, grind-out games. That gameplan can only be executed if Swayman regains his form as one of the top young netminders in the NHL.
There’s far less drama surrounding Swayman this camp after trudging through an extended contract stalemate last year, one that had him missing all of camp.
The pressure remains high on Swayman to live up to both his label as Boston’s No. 1 netminder and the sizable contract he finally secured last October (eight years, $66 million).
The momentum secured from a strong showing at the IIHF World Championships (7-0, .921 save percentage for Team USA) should work his favor.
“I’m a completely different human being,” Swayman said earlier this month. “And that’s a testament to the experience that I gained throughout my career to this point. And I’m so grateful for that — the ups and downs of it all. And standing here, Jeremy Swayman is in a great spot, and I’m really excited about that.”
Joonas Korpisalo — who has three years left on his current contract with Boston — is the odds-on favorite to slot in behind Swayman on the depth chart.
The veteran netminder served admirably in the role last season and was candid about wanting to log more reps after appearing in just 27 games.
But the Bruins also have another option in 26-year-old Michael DiPietro, who was named the AHL’s top goalie this past season after sporting a .927 save percentage over 40 games with Providence.
Considering that the Bruins handed DiPietro a two-year, one-way contract in June, Boston seems to have plenty of faith in the young netminder. If DiPietro impresses during preseason action and pushes Korpisalo over the next few weeks, things could get interesting.
DiPietro would also need to clear waivers if the Bruins wanted to send him to Providence at the end of camp. Given both his age and upside, some club desperate for goalie help might love to take DiPietro off of Boston’s hands.
The onus will fall on DiPietro to make a compelling case. His strong play could prompt Boston to try and find a trade suitor for Korpisalo — or potentially expose the 31-year-old to waivers if the backup gig in Boston goes to the younger option.
The Bruins are one just two NHL clubs set to enter camp without a captain in place (the other is San Jose).
All eyes will be on Boston’s next group of leaders in Pastrnak and McAvoy when it comes to picking up the pieces and cultivating a new culture after the Bruins traded away Brad Marchand, Brandon Carlo, and Charlie Coyle in March.
Those efforts may not result in one of Pastrnak or McAvoy assuming the captaincy by the start of the regular season, with GM Don Sweeney acknowledging the team is opting for a more gradual approach.
“We’ve been forward with everybody, and honest with everybody, that we’re going to start without it,” Sweeney said. “We’ve got a leadership group that’s been meeting amongst themselves and I think eventually somebody will emerge as the guy that should be the next captain.
“It comes with a lot of responsibility. So I’d like to see a little more organic, natural, progression of it.”
Even if the Bruins don’t stamp a “C” on someone’s sweater in the coming weeks, Pastrnak and McAvoy have both stressed the need to carry on — but also evolve – the culture that was initially set down by Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron nearly two decades ago.
“I think maybe instead of just the ‘rinse and repeat’ of what it’s been for a long time … we have to try and build it back up,” McAvoy said. “It’s different. It’s a completely different group. It’s different individuals. So it’s going to look different.”
Beyond McAvoy and Pastrnak’s growing leadership, focus should be paid to which players continue to assert themselves. Another “A” could go to the likes of Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, or Sean Kuraly, among others.