Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney spoke to the media for the first time since he traded away Linus Ullmark for a package surrounding the 25th overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. Here are the takeaways from that and more:
1. End of the Line For DeBrusk (and others)
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise given the way things were going before this week, but Sweeney all but confirmed Jake DeBrusk will hit the open market and end his time with the Bruins.
“We had been in negotiations with Jake. Haven’t had any productive talks in quite some time, but at the end of the day, that’s his prerogative to see what July 1 brings for him,” Sweeney said on Thursday.
DeBrusk had a down season in terms of production, scoring just 40 points in 80 games. He disappeared for stretches, but when he was on, he was on; no better example of that than the playoffs, when he led the Bruins with 11 points in 13 games.
When the season ended a month ago, neither DeBrusk nor Sweeney seemed confident that they would come to terms on a new contract, and nothing has changed since then.
And DeBrusk won’t be the only one likely to head out the door. While Sweeney said he plans to meet with Danton Heinen’s agent and also work on a qualifying offer for restricted free agent Jesper Boqvist, he left the status of the other pending free agents up in the air.
Sweeney painted a broad brush: Anyone who isn’t signed at this point knows where they stand, but he won’t publicize any individual situations. However, Sweeney did say it’s a “safe bet” those players will hit the open market on July 1.
2. Not the End of Goalie Debate?
With Linus Ullmark traded to the Ottawa Senators and Jeremy Swayman awaiting a long-term contract extension, all the questions surrounding the goalie position are settled.
The Bruins received Joonas Korpisalo as part of the return from Ottawa, which retained 25 percent of his salary, but the 30-year-old will be on the Bruins’ books at $3 million a year for the next four seasons. Despite putting up poor numbers last season (.890 save percentage, 3.27 GAA), Korpisalo appears poised to be Swayman’s backup for the foreseeable future.
That is, unless Brandon Bussi has something to say about it. The 26-year-old does not have an NHL game under his belt, but he put together another strong season with AHL Providence and recently signed a one-year, $775,000 extension.
Once Swayman is re-signed, he will be the Bruins’ true No. 1. Full stop, no questions about it. But as for his new backup, Bussi has a real opportunity to usurp Korpisalo in the depth chart.
“I don’t want to lose sight of Brandon in the sense that, you know, he’s paid his dues. He wants an opportunity in the National Hockey League. If he beats out — in this case in all likelihood — Joonas, then we’ll have to give him the opportunity.”
Sweeney compared it to Johnny Beecher and Matt Poitras earning a spot on the opening night roster last season over higher-paid, more experienced options. There’s no guarantee, but Bussi will have the opportunity that he desperately wants.
3. Free Agent Targets Should Fill (Most) Expected Holes
Without going into specifics, Sweeney shared the Bruins will attack their main positions of need during free agency: center depth and defensive reinforcements.
“We’d like to deepen the middle of the ice with us, so that’s where we’ve been focused on trying to have those talks with our group to say, ‘Ok, well who would be the guy?’ and then make, hopefully, the pitch at the right time that we can add a player of that nature,” Sweeney said.
He also mentioned “strengthening the defense” in order to allow Mason Lohrei to continue developing at a natural pace and not just throw him into the fire as an everyday top four defenseman, even though he played at a high level during the playoffs.
Jeremy Swayman’s next contract is also a part of the equation, but Sweeney has no concerns given Boston’s cap space estimated to be north of $20 million.
“I can’t tell you that we’re going to satisfy every need that our group had identified or you might have identified,” Sweeney said. “But we are going to be aggressive to try and improve our hockey club.”
4. Don’t Expect Splash in First Round
The most exciting part of the Ullmark trade is the return of their own 2024 first-round pick, which was traded to Detroit in 2023 as part of the deal for Tyler Bertuzzi, which the Red Wings then sent to Ottawa as part of the compensation for Alex DeBrincat.
Now it’s back in Boston’s hands. Assuming they keep the pick, the Bruins will make a first-round selection for the first time since 2021.
Sweeney said it was a “shock” to his scouting department, in a good way. With one of the NHL’s worst prospect pools, the Bruins will have the opportunity to grab someone who can be a real difference-maker down the line. And that ‘someone’ could be anyone, as the Bruins will select who they perceive to be the best player available regardless of positional need.
“It’s a dangerous prospect to just go into the draft thinking you’re just targeting a particular position,” Sweeney said. “I think it’s ill-fated at times, and you can mistakes. We all make them.”
Sweeney added it’s “unlikely” they will trade up, but won’t completely rule it out. It also appears doubtful they will flip the pick for another NHL-ready player. Barring a trade back to accrue more capital, it seems like Sweeney and Bruins management are content to stay put and add a high-end prospect to their system.
5. Kastelic’s Fit
The third and final piece of the Ullmark return, Mark Kastelic, should add more depth to the Bruins’ bottom six. Sweeney shared his initial thoughts on the 25-year-old forward and how he expects him to fit in this season.
“We’re happy to add another right-shot,” Sweeney said. “He’s well-above 50 percent in his face-offs (56.3 percent career), an area that we got a little bit wonky with in the later part of the playoffs (42.5 percent as a team vs. Toronto).
“During the course of the year, we did a really good job at it, but you can always use that. He can play both center and wing. Probably toggles pretty well with Johnny [Beecher] in that case.”
Sweeney added they will work Kastelic into a penalty-killing role to further utilize his toughness. Assuming Boqvist signs a qualifying offer and returns to the team, it appears some variation of him, Beecher and Kastelic are the early favorites to make up the fourth line.
That said, there’s still the entire rest of the offseason to come before making any calls like that. Up next, the NHL Draft, which starts at 7 p.m. ET on Friday.
