Five post-NHL trade deadline Bruins storylines to watch

Five post-NHL trade deadline Bruins storylines to watch originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Boston Bruins were the busiest team at the NHL trade deadline last Friday.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney overhauled his flawed roster, trading away notable players such as Brad Marchand, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Justin Brazeau and Brandon Carlo.

These moves helped the B’s acquire valuable draft picks and young players that will help in the long-term. But what about the short term?

The Bruins aren’t mathematically eliminated from the Eastern Conference playoff race, but their chances of extending their league-leading postseason appearance streak to nine seasons appear slim.

Let’s take a look at five key storylines for fans to watch over the Bruins’ final 17 games of the 2024-25 regular season.

Which young players/newcomers will make the biggest impact?

The Bruins acquired a couple good young players in their trade deadline deals. One of them is Casey Mittelstadt, a 26-year-old center who came over in the Charlie Coyle trade. Mittelstadt has disappointed offensively this season, but he does have the kind of skill set that can improve the Bruins’ scoring output at 5-on-5 and the power play. He’s a talented playmaker and adds much-needed speed to the B’s lineup. Mittelstadt picked up an assist in his Bruins debut on Cole Koepke’s third-period goal in last Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Fraser Minten was one of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ best prospects, and he was acquired as part of the Brandon Carlo trade. Minten will start with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he got a look in the NHL before the regular season concludes. Minten has a good two-way skill set at center, including an impressive shot. He’s got 19 games of NHL experience since being drafted in the second round by the Leafs in 2022, and getting him some more reps at that level would be beneficial to his development.

The return of Jakub Lauko — acquired in the Justin Brazeau trade — provides the Bruins another good locker room presence and some speed in the bottom-six. Can he make more of an offensive impact in his second stint with the B’s? That would be the best way for him to carve out a permanent role.

Henri Jokiharju was acquired from the Sabres just before the trade deadline. The Finnish defenseman has the potential to add puck-moving skill and mobility to the B’s blue line. Jokiharju played really well for the Sabres last season, but his production slipped a bit this year. He is able to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, so he should be very motivated to close out the season strong. If Jokiharju proves to be a good fit, it would be wise to bring him back. He’s a reclamation project and it didn’t cost the B’s much to take the gamble.

It will also be interesting to see if Fabian Lysell gets a chance to prove himself at the NHL level. The 2021 first-round pick has played only one career game for the B’s. He has played well for the Providence Bruins this season, tallying 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 48 games. His speed, scoring ability and playmaking skill would be valuable additions to a Bruins roster that has ranked in the bottom third of goals scored and power-play percentage all season.

The Bruins need to see what they have in Lysell, so it would make sense to give him an extended look in Boston and see if he can produce offensively against better competition. And if the playoffs become a totally unrealistic goal in the near term, the B’s might as well play the kids.

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Can Jeremy Swayman get back on track?

Even if it ultimately wouldn’t make a huge difference on this season because the Bruins are unlikely to make the playoffs, it would be beneficial long-term for both the team and Jeremy Swayman if the young goaltender ends the campaign strong and builds some momentum entering the summer.

It’s no secret Swayman has failed to meet expectations after signing one of the richest goalie contracts (eight years, $66 million) in league history just prior to the regular season.

Swayman has a 19-21-6 record with a .898 save percentage and a 2.98 GAA. His -1.5 goals saved above expected ranks 60th out of 94 qualifying goalies, per MoneyPuck. Swayman has the ability to be a top 10 goalie. He’s played at that level for most of his career before this season. If the Bruins are going to execute a quick retool and get back in the playoff hunt in 2026, Swayman has to be a huge part of that. This team won’t go anywhere without strong goaltending.

Swayman’s post-trade deadline stretch got off to a great start this past Sunday with a 26-save shutout win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Finishing the campaign by playing at a top 10 or top 15 level would be a very encouraging sign for Swayman and the Bruins going forward.

Draft pick positioning

The Bruins have a 29-28-8 record through 65 games. Based on points percentage, they are currently in the No. 9 pick spot in the first round of the 2025 NHL Draft. If the Bruins finish with the ninth-worst record, they’ll have a five percent chance to win the draft lottery. The 10th-worst team has a 3.5 percent chance of winning the lottery.

Boston hasn’t had a top 10 pick since it took Dougie Hamilton at No. 9 in 2011, but that wasn’t the Bruins’ own pick. It was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the Phil Kessel trade. The last time Boston’s own pick was in the top 10 was in 2007. The Bruins selected center Zach Hamill at No. 8 overall, and he ended up playing in just 20 career NHL games. The Sharks took center Logan Couture with the next pick, and he’s had a very good career.

It’s been a long time since Bruins fans have been on draft pick watch, but that will be the reality over the next month unless the team is able to win some games with a now-depleted roster after trading away so many veterans.

David Pastrnak’s pursuit of 40 goals/100 points

One thing that’s kind of gotten lost amid the team’s lackluster season is the fact that David Pastrnak is playing at an MVP level. He leads the team in goals (32), assists (47) and points (79). He’s currently on pace for 99 points, so he does have a chance to reach the 100-point mark for the third straight campaign. Pastrnak also is on pace for 40 goals, which would extend his streak of 40-goal seasons to four.

Pastrnak’s 42 points since Jan. 1 are the most of any player in the league during that span. He’s the reason the Bruins have even a slight chance of reaching the playoffs.

When we look back at this Bruins season — whenever it ends — there will be plenty of talk about veteran players who underperformed. Pastrnak will not be on that list. He’s living up to expectations.

Playoffs? You’re talking about the playoffs?!

Making the playoffs is not a very realistic goal for the Bruins, and you could make a strong argument that missing the playoffs and earning a lottery pick would be best for the short- and long-term future of the franchise.

But the B’s aren’t out of the playoff race yet.

The B’s are four points behind the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference and five points behind the Ottawa Senators for the first wild card berth. It doesn’t sound like an insurmountable gap, but the B’s have played two more games than both the Senators and Blue Jackets, which doesn’t bode well for Boston.

The Bruins have just a 3.9 percent chance of reaching the postseason, per MoneyPuck’s model. One thing to consider is the fact that Boston has the 25th-easiest remaining schedule, per Tankathon, so there will be plenty of opportunities to pick up points down the stretch.