The Boston Bruins enter the 2026-27 season with a roster that features multiple changes from last season, but the core remains the same.
Out goes Viktor Arvidsson, Joonas Korpisalo, and Andrew Peeke.
In comes JJ Peterka, Will Borgen, Connor Clifton, and Michael DiPietro.
On paper, those are all clear upgrades while also making the Bruins younger overall.
After 100-point regular season, the theme has been clear from Bruins' General Manager Don Sweeney: Improving on the core.
It's hard to argue that any of his moves haven't done that. Every move clearly improves the roster from the previous season. The larger question remains whether the team itself will maintain the level they played at last season, and if it's enough to remain ahead of the likes of the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins are already all-in on this season.
As it stands, the Bruins currently hold just one first-round pick (their own) for 2027, and then no picks in the second, third, or fifth rounds of the 2027 NHL Draft.
Boston holds two fourth-rounders, their own and the Winnipeg Jets' 2027 pick. Boston has their own sixth and seventh-round picks for the 2027 Draft.
The Bruins could end up with the Maple Leafs' 2027 first-round pick if and only if they again finish with a top-10 pick, AND Toronto then chooses to give Boston that pick instead of giving it to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Toronto has the 11th overall pick or later, Philadelphia receives Toronto's first. Meanwhile, the Bruins end up with Toronto's 2028 first-round pick, completely unprotected.
Boston's 2027 draft having little depth can easily be corrected. If the currently unsigned Matthew Poitras gets dealt for a draft pick, he would easily fetch a second or third-round pick, if not more.
Boston also has a glut of defensemen, and if one of their depth guys get dealt, they could recoup another draft pick in that process.
If the season goes sideways, dealing pending UFAs Pavel Zacha and Casey Mittelstadt can and will fetch two big returns.
Zacha could receive a Brock Nelson-level return, which was a first-round pick and a team's top prospect, along with a Stanley Cup-winning conditional draft pick, which would've been a third-round pick.
Mittelstadt's return will depend on his production throughout the season, but if Boston retains, it's easy to see a return around a second-round pick and a B-level prospect for a proven point producer with playoff experience.
As the season starts, the Bruins are all-in on the 2026-27 Bruins, as they should be. There's every reason to believe they'll be better than they were last year.
