BRIGHTON, Mass. —  The 2024 offseason was defined by a strenuous contract negotiation process for the Boston Bruins, and the summer of 2025 isn’t staring off much better.

Speaking on Wednesday ahead of the NHL Draft, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney revealed the team remains apart in their discussions with restricted free agent forward Morgan Geekie.

“There’s been constant communication. Are we on the doorstep? I don’t think so, but that can change with one phone call again,” Sweeney said. You get around this time frame, and sometimes you’re tracking on a deal, and you get it done right away. Other times you put on the back burners to see what everybody else is maybe focused on. That doesn’t mean that my attention isn’t on Morgan and being able to close out a deal. We have time in that regard, so I’m not concerned.”

Sweeney on state of negotiations with Morgan Geekie:

“There’s been constant communication. Are we on the doorstep? I don’t think so. But that can change within one phone call.”

— Andrew Fantucchio (@A_Fantucchio) June 25, 2025

Geekie, 26, was Boston’s second-leading scorer last year, setting a new career high with 33 goals and 57 points across 77 games. According to AFP Analytics, he’s in line to sign a contract somewhere in the range of four-years with an average annual value of $6.5 million per season.

It’s not exactly an emergency that Geekie hasn’t signed yet. The offseason only officially began less than a week ago, after all, and his status as a restricted free agent means the Bruins will have the chance to match any offer he receives from another team.

Should one come along, the Bruins plan to have plenty of funds available to keep Geekie in their pockets.

“We know what the market value is. We’re just trying to find a deal, but there’s no exposure there,” said Sweeney. “I would never put the team, the organization, in a situation where we felt there was exposure. It would take a unique situation.”

READ MORE: Morgan Geekie’s Big Year Leaves Bruins With Big Questions

Along with Geekie, John Beecher, Jakub Lauko, and Marat Khusnutdinov, are all set to become RFAs. Sweeney said he’s already informed which ones he plans on bringing back.

Mason Lohrei was among that group until he and the Bruins reached an agreement on a two-year extension earlier this week that will pay him $3.2 million per season through 2026-27.

“Sometimes deals have their own timeline, and in Mason’s case, we had an open dialog,” Sweeney said. “[Assistant general manager] Evan [Gold]  did the lion share of the work on that one, and they found some common ground. It was a little bit of a complicated situation, with the fact that he put up good numbers, but was exposed a little bit defensively. There’s work to be done. I think both sides are happy in terms of finding middle ground.” 

As for unrestricted free agents, Boston has forward Cole Koepke as well defensemen Henri Jokihajru and Parker Wotherspoon hitting the open market. The team has already had conversations with Jokiharju. Both sides are interested in a reunion after the Bruins acquired the blue liner from the Buffalo Sabres at the trade deadline back in March for a fourth-round draft pick.

“I’m currently in discussions with Henri, seeing if we can bring him back,” said Sweeney. “We have a need on the right side, there’s no question about that.”

Above all else, Boston’s biggest need this offseason is scoring punch. Aside from Geekie and David Pastrnak, no other player who finished last year with the team had more than 20 goals (Brad Marchand had 21 before being traded to the Florida Panthers).

The Bruins have $23 million in cap space at their disposal to spend this offseason.

But with a thing NHL free agent market, it will truly be an arms race.

“Most teams are working pretty quickly,” Sweeney said. “If you’re asleep when the gun goes off, chances are you’re left behind. There’s not a lot of time to get your other contracts done, but you have to have done your work ahead of time in terms of who or may not be available, and then try to go to work. It’s not easy preparing for it, but it is what it is. We all face the exact same thing.” 

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