REBUILD OR RETOOL? How Bruins Will Avoid COLLAPSE Like Red Wings, Blackhawks and Contend SOON!

REBUILD OR RETOOL? How Bruins Will Avoid COLLAPSE Like Red Wings, Blackhawks and Contend SOON!

So now after finishing in 15th in the Eastern Conference this past year and picking in the top 10 for the first time in 15 years and probably headed down that direction again in 25 26. The question then becomes for the Bruins, when do they become competitive, when do the Bruins become a contender again? I don’t think it’s going to be this year. Again, I’ve talked about it on the show quite a few times. I think there’s just way too much that needs to go right for the Bruins to be a playoff team in the Atlantic division in 2025 26. And I also am on the record as saying I believe this is more of a rebuild than a retool. Like how many retools actually work in the NHL? It’s pretty rare. Anybody who says, “Oh, we still love the bones of this team.” It doesn’t work. It like never works. The Bruins are in a rebuild. So, when does that mean they’re in the Stanley Cup playoffs? Again, maybe I’m being too optimistic here, and I’m going to take a bit of an optimistic look, admittedly. I just don’t think this is going to become I don’t think this is going to become a Detroit situation. I don’t think it’s going to become God help us, I don’t think it’s going to become a Buffalo situation. I don’t even think it’s going to become a Chicago situation. I don’t think we’re in a position where the Bruins are going to miss the playoffs for seven or eight straight years. And maybe that’s me being naive because of how much I do criticize Don Sweeney, but maybe that’s me looking back in Bruins history and saying, “Okay, when was the last time that happened? When was the last time the Bruins missed the playoffs for five straight seasons?” It doesn’t happen. It hasn’t happened in 65 years. You know, it does not happen. And to to add to that, like these teams, the Chicago, the Detroits, the San Jose’s, right? They let it all hang out. They let everybody age out and then they had nothing. The Bruins do have David Posterno and Charlie Makavoy and maybe maybe a franchise goalender and Jeremy Swayman if he has a bounceback year. They have pieces still. Are those three guys good enough to make them competitive on their own? Clearly not. Clearly not. Like, they have so many more holes, but there’s a good chance you’re picking in the top 10 for back-to-back years. You have at least $20 million in cap space going into next season, next off season. So, you’ve got room to grow here. Of course, that will, again, my naivee. Of course, that will mean that the Bruins signed a premier free agent for the first time in almost 20 years when they went out and got Zedo Charara, right? That will have been 20 years at that point since they went out and got premium free agent market value Zoara and Mark Zavard in the summer of 2006. But if you’re the Bruins, you have to. The benefit of this organization has been they haven’t had to go out and get a premier free agent in a long time. Last year they kind of needed to. They didn’t. They got Elias Linda Nikita Zador off and overpaid for both of them. Um but this is a situation for the first time in a long time where you do have to go out and get a premier free agent and really help your team from from this year to next year. Like genuinely improve your team. So when I take an optimistic outlook on this thing, I don’t think it’s crazy to say the Bruins are Stanley Cup contenders in three years. Okay. A lot needs to go right. That would be 2027 28. But like I think they could be competing for a division title and therefore would make you a Stanley Cup contender in three years. You would need to go out and get someone big on the free agent market next year. Jack Eel obviously probably going to be the biggest fish because I don’t think McDavid’s going to make it there. But you know a Tuck Anatious Akee you know two of those are wingers. Nas can be a winger. You’re going to have hopefully a center of the future in James Hagens. You know, uh you’ve still got Mc or McDavid. You’ve still got Posterno in his prime years. You’ve got Makavoy in his prime years. Towards the tail end of their prime years, but still in it. You hopefully have a franchise goalender and Jeremy Swayman and some of your other prospects will have had to pan out. You know, three years from now, you’ll need to be close to bringing in young goalc scoring hot shot phenom Will Zeers. You know, you’ve got to be close with Vashek Lar. You’ve got to have Mason Lorai being a first pairing kind of guy or being traded for someone who is who is a top six forward or a first pairing kind of defenseman. You need all those things to happen. But that is a reasonable timeline I think for the Bruins. And again, I’m admitting it’s it’s optimistic. We do need to take into account that, you know, three years, two of the I think all three of those years after the two-year extension is covered under the Don Sweeney era. Don Sweeney doesn’t do these things. He doesn’t make shrewd moves. He doesn’t sign good free agents at good deals. And overall, he is not drafted very well. Okay. I think the Hagens picks a great pick. And then you got to go back to Chuck Makavoy to get another great first round pick. The only other great first round pick from Don Sweeney. So, let’s be real here. like that’s that’s still a lot that needs to happen, but they’re going to suck this year. They need to go out and get someone that improves their team right away in free agency next year. Again, they’ll have the money and they might need to overspend, but overspending on Marty Deis or Adrien Kempe is much better than overspending on Elias Lindholm or David Bachis or Matt Pleski, the guys Don Sweeney has over spent on in the past. And I don’t think there is such thing as overspending on Jack Eel. I don’t think there is. 15 million a year, bargain. Take it. Yes. Where does he sign? Where do we sign? Hell yeah. I’ll eat I’ll eat three quarters of that cap space next year just to give to Jack Eel. Thousand%. Because that 20 million isn’t even taken into account the fact that you could trade Yonas Corposalo and Pavle Zaka in this season. Get them off the books. Maybe even something outside the box like Campus Lindholm. That’s six and a half million a year off your books. There’s ways to get even more cap room versatility for the Bruins. And then all of a sudden you’re talking about building something. Top 10 pick this past year. James Hagens probably gonna have a top 10 pick next year. Maybe even a top five. Shoot. Maybe it’s Gavin McKenna. And then you’re cooking with gas. And then you’re saying to free agents, yeah, I know it hasn’t been great the last few years. And I know Marco Sturm isn’t a Jack Adams winner or anything, but look at this. 30 goal scorer on one wing. Morgan Geeki 100 point scorer every year. David Posturdock on the other. still in his prime. We’re going to have these kids coming up. McKenna, James Haggins. We can get you, Jack, Jack Eel, and we can maybe go out and get someone else. We’ve cleared even more room. Maybe we make some shrewd moves. Maybe we make some trades. We free up even more cap space. Maybe then we get a Marty Nous and we just go all in on this free agent class. And oh yeah, our goalenders turned it around. And look at the reckless abandoned Charlie Makavoy playing with. He looks like team USA, Charlie Makavoy. There’s some things that can happen for the Bruins that get them on the right path by this time next summer. And one of the it doesn’t it they don’t have to be coming off a good season for those wheels to be set in motion. That’s kind of the beauty of this because of that cap space and because the second best free agent in next year’s class, who will probably end up being the best free agent in next year’s class, is a hometown kid and grew up a humongous Bruins fan. So, three years from now, your Boston Bruins will be competing. They’ll be in the postseason. They’ll be making a run. New England will have Stanley Cup fever again in the spring of 2028. Get the duck boats ready. Those Bruins are coming. Let me know what you think in the comments section below. How long is this going to take? When are the Bruins going to be competitive again? Am I way off? Is it going to be six or seven years? Is this going to be Detroit, Chicago, San Jose? Let me know in the comments section below. Be sure to like the video, subscribe to the channel. Our numbers have skyrocketed over the last three weeks here. Been unbelievable the growth in this channel. mainly because we’re talking hockey. So if you guys like that, you like hockey talk, you like Bruins talk, like and subscribe. It’s completely free. We’re coming to you live every weekday 9 noon Eastern time and then wherever you get your podcast as well. So check out the other videos on the channel talking Bruins, talking hockey, everything else going on in the world of Boston sports. I’m your host, Cam Stewart. Zack Burke keeps us on the air every weekday.

After a disappointing 2024-25 season and a significant shift in the roster, many Boston Bruins fans are asking the big question: When can we realistically expect to be Stanley Cup contenders again? Forget the hopium and the doom-and-gloom – we’re diving into a data-driven, realistic timeline for the Black & Gold’s resurgence!

In this video, we’ll break down the key factors that need to align for the Bruins to hoist the Cup once more. We’ll analyze the crucial development arcs of rising prospects like James Hagens, Matthew Poitras, and Fraser Minten, whose NHL impact is vital. We’ll explore the immense cap flexibility opening up in 2026 (projected at nearly $20-28 MILLION!), and how a strategic splash in that loaded free agent class (hello, potential Jack Eichel or others!) could accelerate the timeline.

From the importance of a bounce-back season from Jeremy Swayman to the sustained elite performance of David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy, every piece matters. Join us as we map out the journey, from retooling to true contention. This isn’t just about making the playoffs – it’s about building a sustainable championship window. What’s your realistic timeline?

#BostonBruins #StanleyCup #BruinsTimeline #NHLAnalytics #Prospects #NHLFreeAgency #BruinsRebuild #HockeyContenders #BostonSports

0:00 Bruins’ recent performance and future outlook

3:34 Potential for Bruins to contend in three years

6:07 Strategies to improve team and attract free agents

8:09 Optimistic prediction for Bruins’ 2028 season

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