Bruins Notebook: Noteworthy Tidbits From End-Of-Season Press Conference

BOSTON — While the Bruins finished short of making the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season, the Original Six franchise anticipates returning for a Stanley Cup run in the 2025-26 campaign.

“We feel like we have a team that’s very — we’ve already addressed this,” CEO Charlie Jacobs said at the final media availability of the season Wednesday at TD Garden. “We have a team that we feel everyone needs to stay healthy; we can make the playoffs absolutely and make a push.”

“The biggest thing for me is I don’t want everybody to just focus on making the playoffs,” Bruins president Cam Neely added. “Yes, we do want to make the playoffs, but we have bigger goals in mind than just making the playoffs. It’s not just about getting in and getting bounced in round one. We’re here to understand that we have to build a team that’s going to compete for Stanley Cups.

“Don (Sweeney) and his group have done it before. I have full confidence we can do it again. … It’s not just about getting into the playoffs here, it’s about winning.”

For the Bruins to get back into legitimate contention, Sweeney outlined areas the Original Six franchise needs to improve in.

“We have to get back to full health in key positions,” Sweeney said. “Certainly, we missed Hampus (Lindholm) for a significant portion of the year and Charlie (McAvoy) for a significant portion of the year. It probably starts there in the health of our group.

“We have to find, either through the development of our current players, some extra scoring potential, and we have to probably address the wing positions that will deepen the scoring ability that showed up ineffectively this year in the way the roster was built. We didn’t score enough.”

Sweeney added that while David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie had “terrific” offensive seasons, the rest of the lineup didn’t complement their production as much as the Bruins had hoped.

“I think the scoring potential of our group needs to be increased and addressed this summer,” Sweeney added. “We need to get back to the competitive level, the speed and defending with conviction that we have been doing.”

The Bruins’ general manager anticipates utilizing all available tools to enhance the roster, including integrating some of their younger players into the NHL roster, making strategic trades to acquire the right players, and exploring opportunities through free agency and the draft.

Here are more tidbits from the Bruins’ end-of-season press conference:

— The Bruins are expecting more internal competition next season — and that begins with goaltending.

Sweeney suggested that the team may have negatively impacted the goalie situation by giving Jeremy Swayman too heavy of a workload. Swayman’s previous game output totaled 44 games, increasing to 58 in the 2024-25 campaign.

“Well, in my exit meeting, Jeremy categorically denied that the extra workload was part of it,” Sweeney said. “In some ways, it also led (Joonas) Korpisalo to say he didn’t play enough and would like to have a little more of that lion’s share, and that’s part of the internal competition that I think we have to get back to and being able to push for playing time, for opportunity.”

The Bruins expect Swayman to return to the level he is capable of playing.

— Boston has begun negotiations with Geekie, who becomes a restricted free agent this summer.

“They have a goal. We have a goal. I’m not boxed into any one particular year,” Sweeney said of where the talks stand between the Bruins and Geekei’s camp. “We’re going to look at the entire, whether that’s term and AVV, and all the other things that go with it, and find the landing spot. Our goal is to have a long-term deal.”

— Pastrnak, Swayman, Elias Lindholm, Jakub Lauko, Andrew Peeke and Mason Lohrei will all compete in the 2025 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship beginning next month in Sweden and Denmark.