The summer continues to roll on, with July just about halfway through, yet the Boston Bruins continue to carry a presumed 10 NHL defenseman on their roster.

Charlie McAvoy, Will Borgen, Connor Clifton, Henri Jokiharju, Hampus Lindholm, Jonathan Aspirot, Nikita Zadorov, Mason Lohrei, Jordan Harris, and Frederic Brunet all figure to be in a fight for the NHL roster.

All of those defensemen would require waivers to make it back to Providence.

Obviously, the likes of McAvoy, Lindholm, and Zadorov are not candidates. It's highly unlikely either of Borgen or Clifton go that route either, after the effort Boston made to acquire Borgen and sign Clifton.

But, are any of those other five names safe?

Brunet seems to be ready for the next step, but seems currently completely blocked out from a spot. He could likely sneak through waivers this time around.

After that, it comes down to Aspirot, Lohrei, Harris, and Jokiharju.

Harris could be attractive to some teams looking for cheap, offensive depth on the blue line, but it also feels like he could sneak through during the busy waiver wire time.

After that, it gets really complicated. The vast majority of NHL teams carry 14 forwards, 7 defensemen, and two goalies to make up their 23-man roster.

The Bruins would need to cut or trade two of Lohrei, Aspirot, and Jokiharju.

Lohrei, if it comes to it, surely could fetch some value in a trade. He would not pass through waivers, not with one year left on his deal and remains an RFA after that.

Aspirot spent the second half of the season stapled alongside McAvoy. It's extremely difficult to envision a world where Boston decides they're a better team without him than with him. 

That leaves the Bruins with the Jokiharju question. The Bruins acquired the right-shot defenseman at the 2025 Trade Deadline, then signed him to a three-year, $9 million contract.

Jokiharju then played just 41 games this past season, spending stretches as a healthy scratch, including being scratched for four of the six playoff games.

With Borgen and Clifton added, it feels like Jokiharju faces an uphill climb to make the roster.

His contract has two more years left at a $3 million cap hit. In the expanded cap world, it's more than manageable for teams looking to take a flier on him.

Still, teams don't like to spend money excessively. It's highly unlikely he'd pass through waivers, but it isn't impossible.

Jokiharju is an NHL defenseman, and in the right fit, a good one. However, he just hasn't fit in Marco Sturm's system.