The Bruins have jumped out to a 3-1-0 start so far this season behind a strong showing from Jeremy Swayman and several other contributors.
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With the 2025-26 Bruins season now underway, we reached out to Bruins fans on social media for all questions related to the local hockey team.
Let’s dive into our first Bruins mailbag of the new season:
Q: Should we expect [James] Hagens to play this year? If the bruins are middling, does it make sense to burn a year and potentially rush his development? – @northernwreck on X
Ultimately, if the Bruins are middling and aren’t staring at a potential playoff run, Boston likely wouldn’t have to worry about burning Hagens’ first year of team control.
An 18/19-year-old player can avoid burning the first year of his entry-level deal by playing 10 or fewer games in his first pro season — allowing that contract to slide forward a year.
So, if the Bruins are closing out the year without a playoff berth and Hagens is ready to go pro in late March/early April, Boston could give him 8-10 games to dip his toe in the water without worrying about his contract.
Of course, a lot of it comes down to how Hagens fares this season at BC and whether or not he’s ready to turn pro this spring — as well as whether or not Boston could use his playmaking if they’re set for a playoff run.
That 1- game limit also includes playoff games, so if Hagens joins the team and Boston does go on a run — there’s a good chance that first year of an ELC is getting burned.
Q: Some of the younger guys are off to a great start in Providence. If Poitras, Lysell, or Locmelis earns a spot who do you think they take it from? – @IceFrog67 on X
I think the most logical spot for a Providence player to settle into the Bruins’ lineup is the 3RW spot currently occupied by Mikey Eyssimont. Eyssimont should be a key cog on Boston’s bottom-six grouping, but Boston could use a bit more skill at that spot if that current line struggles to produce.
Eyssimont could easily shift down to a fourth line that already has a few bruisers in place like Mark Kastelic, while an offensively gifted youngster could give Boston a much-needed scoring element on what has been more of a straight-line unit between Fraser Minten, Eyssimont, and Tanner Jeannot.
Lysell (three goals, one assist in two games with Providence) makes the most sense as a wing, while Poitras (four assists in two games with Providence) might be more of a square peg in a round hole as a natural center.
Minten has been as advertised so far, but if he hits a bump in the road, that might open the door for Poitras to slot in at center.
Q: Korpisalolololololo is a complete sieve. His .851% proves it. Why isnt Boston upgrading their goaltender position? – @1_fan45216 on X
Korpisalo may not be off to the same start as a netminder like Swayman (.966 save percentage), but I also don’t think he’s been as bad as his save percentage shows.
As was the case on Monday against Tampa, Korpisalo was done in by some dreadful puck management by the skaters in front of him, with Sturm noting postgame that several of the Bolts’ goals were scored off turnovers into an “empty net.” I’m not ready to overreact quite yet on Korpisalo’s start.
Given Korpisalo’s contract (signed through 2027-28 at $3 million AAV), I’ll add that it wouldn’t come as much of a surprise if the Bruins eventually explore an avenue to move him in place of a cheaper backup option.
But, it takes two to tango on that type of deal, while Boston also needs a younger netminder like Michael DiPietro to rise to the occasion.
One name to keep tabs on for the future is Maine sophomore goalie Albin Boija, who is looking like an elite prospect once again up in Orono. Boija attended Boston’s Development camp this summer, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bruins made a concerted effort to try and add another Black Bear to their goalie pipeline once his season ends this spring.
Q: I think its time to name [David Pastrnak] the captain and let him do his thing. I feel like he’s taking over the role organically. The team is his. There’s no doubt. – Garrett, via email
I honestly think the Bruins are going to take their time before naming a captain — and wouldn’t be surprised if Boston waits until next year to formally announce the “C.”
That being said, I was impressed with how Pastrnak handled himself as a leader during a season gone awry after March’s trade deadline.
He’s definitely leading by example on the ice this year — as evidenced by both his expected production and his unexpected contributions down the other end of the ice, like that goal-saving stop against Hagel and his thunderous hit on Kucherov on Monday against Tampa.
Even if Pastrnak doesn’t end up as captain, it’s clear he’d taken more of an onus to serve beyond just being the team’s top offensive threat.
Q: Why do so many former Bruins thrive once they leave the organization? Bussi, Brazeau, Boqvist, and the list goes on and on. I’m sure you can come up with a bunch of names! – Sam, via email
That Marchand fella sure seems like he’s doing well down in South Florida, Sam.
I will say that some of those stronger returns elsewhere might be a byproduct of more opportunities available on said roster, than perhaps an outright indictment on the Bruins and whether their system stagnates talent.
Boqvist, much like other former Bruins fourth-line regulars like A.J. Greer (also in Florida) has been strong for the Panthers, although I don’t have many qualms about the Bruins cycling through fourth liners, considering they’ve usually done a pretty good job replenishing that part of the roster over the years.
Losing Greer to waivers in 2023 was still a tough hit, considering that the Bruins deemed him expendable following the offseason addition of Milan Lucic — a sentiment that quickly went south.
It’s good to see a netfront option like Brazeau start out strong in Pittsburgh, where an admittedly lackluster Penguins forward corps should have him positioned for top power-play reps — a spot that he may not have had here in Boston.
Marchand, in some respects, is also a unique case.
On a far deeper Florida roster, he’s been able to exploit matchups and thrive on a club where he is no longer tasked with being a top-line winger — a luxury that was not afforded to him over his final years with Boston.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Marchand has another productive year with Florida. But, it’s a tough look for the Bruins’ long-term roster construction plans over the last five-plus years that they were counting on a then-36-year-old Marchand to still drive play as their top left wing in 2024-25 — rather than have the roster depth in place to have him thrive as more of a second-line stalwart.
Similar to how Charlie Coyle can be an elite 3C but a bit of a reach as a top-six regular, Marchand is best utilized as a matchup-nightmare on a second line at this stage of his career — rather than a franchise, top-line fixture.
Q: I know it’s just the beginning of the season for BC, but I haven’t been blown away by Hagens. Obviously things could change by March, but he doesn’t look to me like a lock for 2C when he joins the Bruins. Any chance he spends time in Providence or have they promised him he will definitely join the team once BC’s season is over? – Kim, via email
It’s been a bit of a relatively slow start for Hagens with three points in three games with the Eagles — although he also had a goal taken off the board last weekend against Minnesota due to an offside review. I think it’s only natural for Bruins fans to be expecting (or hoping, perhaps) for Hagens to submit a 50/60-point season as a sophomore, but I still think he can easily surpass last year’s still-solid point-per-game scoring total.
He was pretty bottled up against a suffocating Quinnipiac team in BC’s season opener earlier this month, but the transition game, edge work, and playmaking is still evident on just about all of his shifts. There’s still a long way to go for Hagens and the Eagles — especially with some softer matchups on the horizon after three games against ranked foes in Quinnipiac and Minnesota.
But, barring injury or severe underperformance, I’m not fretting over his game quite yet.
If he’s going to be a 40-point, top-line regular for BC this fall, I would be very surprised if he doesn’t earn a cup of coffee with the Bruins in the spring. Beyond that, it’ll fall on Hagens to seize a starting job out of training camp in 2026. He might be a blue-chip talent, but Hagens’ draft stock alone also won’t guarantee him an NHL job out of the gate next year.
Q: How much rope do you think Minten will get before he gets sent down to Providence? The past two games didn’t go well for him, but I have a feeling he will get the benefit of the doubt and numerous chances to succeed unlike Poitras in previous years. Could you see Sturm keeping him up for the entire season to get NHL experience? – Ben, via email
I think given Sturm’s previous comments about Minten’s camp, his trust in deploying him in overtime, and his usage on the PK (over two minutes of shorthanded TOI per game), it seems like Boston’s coach is going to give the 21-year-old center plenty of leeway to succeed (and sometimes fail) at the NHL level this year.
Unless Minten’s details erode significantly over an extended slump, I think the preference is for Sturm to keep the young forward in place at the 3C spot. If the Bruins want to build a sustainable contender for the long haul, this season should provide the ideal window for a youngster like Minten to go through some growing pains at the pro level.
Q: Even if the Bruins defense fires on all cylinders, it’s clear that offensive production is still going to be an issue. Where is it going to come from? Do you expect roster changes? As long as Sweeney and Neely are at the helm, do you ever see the focus being on the top six instead of the bottom six? – Liz, via email
As far as offensive production, I agree that we need to see a large sample size from both the second and third lines before I feel any sort of confidence that secondary scoring will be generated by this team.
Based on Sturm’s musings, it seems like the Bruins’ top focus is making sure it’s top line and power play (currently operating at 12.5%) can do enough to keep this offense humming at a somewhat reasonable rate.
Given Boston’s evident need for more scoring punch, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Bruins are in on several wings this deadline/offseason — headlined by Martin Necas.
Just speculating on my part, but I do believe Boston wanted to add a legitimate top-six wing last offseason, but I think they pivoted pretty quickly after Brock Boeser took himself off the board just before free agency began.
Q: [Matt] Poitras will be a RFA next season and will no longer be exempt. Assuming there is no room for him again on the roster as a C, he’ll likely be grabbed by another team if they place him on waivers to go to PVD. Wouldn’t it be best for the Bruins to trade him this season, possibly as part of a package deal for [Martin Necas], to make sure they get something in return? – Ben, via email
We had a few questions on Poitras’s future and justifiably so, given both his potential and murky status with Boston.
Poitras is definitely an interesting case as far as his long-term future in Boston. The poise and playmaking talent is evident, and it won’t be surprise to see him stuff the stat sheet in Providence. Ultimately, it’s going to have to come down to Poitras to continue to thrive in Providence for the next month or two and make it impossible for Boston’s top brass to keep him stashed away in the AHL.
Be it him overtaking a slumping Minten, slotting into a spot due to injury, or showing some of that playmaking talent on the wing, Poitras needs to make the most of the inevitable opportunity that should come his way.
If he can’t run with those chances — or if the NHL talent in place on Boston’s roster holds its own — I wouldn’t be surprised if Poitras is utilized as a trade chip in part of a package deal if Sweeney and Co. opt to add before the March trade deadline.
The Bruins ideally have two top-six centers in place for the future in Lindhom and Hagens (if all goes right). Minten sure has the makings of a future 3C stalwart, while Poitras’ talents don’t mesh in a fourth-line role.
Something’s gotta give.
Q: Were you surprised that [Matej] Blumel and [Georgii Merkulov] got through waivers? What are their futures with the Bruins? I still can’t believe Merk signed. – Liz, via email
I was a bit surprised that Blumel got through waivers, given his track record of being an impact goal-scorer in the AHL and the evident need for several teams to add cheap talent who could step into a middle-six role if he ran with an opportunity.
I wouldn’t be surprised if we see Blumel up with Boston at some point, especially if the offense starts to stagnate on either the second or third lines.
I also was surprised to see Merkulov back. He’s been a productive player with Providence, but I think the ship has sailed as far as him being a viable candidate for NHL reps with Boston.
Q: [Mason] Lohrei hasn’t really had any competition for his slot, but Harris, Callahan and Brunet now seem hot on his heels. Mason just signed a bridge deal, but is there any scenario where you see the B’s sitting him or trading him if the other guys check more boxes, especially defensively? Harris so far has been very impressive with Lindholm out. – CJ, via email
If the Bruins end up overachieving this season and end up being buyers at the deadline, I think several younger players would be available as trade capital — especially a defenseman with plenty of upside like Lohrei.
I think Sturm and the Bruins want to work with Lohrei to steady his D-zone play (and potentially exploit his playmaking capabilities on the power play), but if his defensive miscues from last year continue, I don’t think he’s exempt from losing his reps in the lineup — especially if a player like Harris (or Brunet down in Providence) continue to excel.
I do agree that Harris’ steady and poised play has been a pleasant surprise, and could raise some legitimate lineup questions if Lindholm is cleared during this road trip.
Q: I had really hoped it would be a true bridge year and we would see a lot of younger players on the roster, but once again Sweeney loaded up on vets that won’t be here for the long term, the exception being Jeannot. Any chance we’ll get to see some of them get a 20 game stint so you’ll know what you have once and for all before the trade deadline hits? – Liz, via email
It was definitely a difficult path for Sweeney and his staff to navigate this summer. While the writing was on the wall that the Bruins were going to blow things up after last year, Boston also likely weren’t going to fully embrace a youth movement — given that another year or two completely in the tank presented the risk of established talents like Pastrnak and McAvoy getting disillusioned or frustrated with the direction of the team during their prime seasons.
You could absolutely make the case that signing the veterans that Boston did this summer doesn’t exactly move the needle either, although I think Boston pivoted to a group of physical, tone-setting players to set a new standard and build up Boston’s identity under Sturm after it became clear that the Bruins effort to add a scoring wing or two was not going to happen.
Ideally you’d want to another young player or two up with the NHL talent to open the year, but I also don’t think the Bruins’ desire to identity young talent should also mean that prospects like Lysell should be awarded a spot out of the gate when they didn’t exactly kick the door down during preseason action.
Given Sturm’s emphasis on giving younger players a shot to thrive (and struggle) at the NHL level like Minten, I think he’d have no qualms about giving another player like Lysell, Blumel, Poitras and others a look at some point this season. But the onus has to fall on those players to make a push over these next couple of weeks.
Q: [Brandon] Bussi just won his NHL debut. Did the Bruins make a mistake keeping DiPietro instead of Bussi? – Ben, via email
I think DiPietro justifiably leapfrogged Bussi last year given Bussi’s struggles in Providence. While Bussi sported a .907 save percentage in the AHL in 2024-25, DiPietro took home AHL Goalie of the Year honors with a .927 save percentage across 40 games. If anything, DiPietro’s so-so preseason and Buss’s play last night for Carolina shows how fickle the goaltending position can be.
(Have a question you want answered in our next mailbag? Send them along to [email protected], or tweet at me at @ConorRyan_93).
Conor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.