The Boston Bruins had a truly terrible 2024-25 season. After spending plenty of money during the 2024 off-season, the Bruins took a massive step in the wrong direction and finished with an Atlantic Division-worst 33-39-10 record. They also missed the playoffs for the first time since 2016.
A major reason for their poor campaign was that several of their players did not reach expectations. However, the 2025-26 season will offer them a clean slate, so let's look at three players who should bounce back next campaign now.
Jeremy Swayman
Jeremy Swayman will need to prove that the 2024-25 season was simply a fluke. The Anchorage, Alaska native struggled big time in his first season as the Bruins' true starter, posting a 22-29-7 record, a 3.11 goals-against average, and a .892 save percentage. This was after he had a .914 save percentage or better in each of his first four seasons with the Black and Gold.
After landing an eight-year, $66 million contract at the start of the 2024-25 season, Swayman needs to be the star goalie he is capable of being in 2025-26. It would help the Bruins' chances of having a turnaround season tremendously.
Pavel Zacha
Pavel Zacha is another Bruin who the club will be hoping has a bounce-back season in 2025-26. In 82 games this campaign, the 2015 first-round pick had 14 goals, 47 points, and a minus-8 rating. While these numbers are not terrible, his offense was noticeably lower than his previous first two seasons with the Bruins.
During his first season as a Bruin in 2022-23, Zacha had 21 goals, 57 points, and a plus-26 rating in 82 games. He then followed that up with 21 goals and 59 points in 78 games in 2023-24. With this, Zacha is capable of being a more impactful offensive contributor, and the Bruins need him to be just that again for them in 2025-26.
Elias Lindholm
Elias Lindholm's first season with the Bruins certainly did not go the way they had hoped. Fresh off of signing a seven-year, $54.25 million contract with the Bruins in free agency, Lindholm had 17 goals, 47 points, and a minus-4 rating in 82 contests. He also struggled to find his fit with the Original Six club for much of the season and even had stints on Boston's third line.
However, there are certainly some signs that Lindholm could have himself a bounce-back year in 2025-26. The 30-year-old had an excellent finish to the season with the Original Six club, recording four goals and nine points in his last seven contests. He also started to form strong chemistry with David Pastrnak and Morgan Geekie, so perhaps a big year could be on the way for Lindholm next season. His play at the World Championship was also encouraging, as he had eight goals and 14 points in 10 games for Sweden during the tournament.
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