Tougher, But Better? Breaking Down Bruins’ Free Agency Moves

Tougher, But Better? Breaking Down Bruins’ Free Agency Moves

The Boston Bruins promised to evolve offensively this off season, but once again on July 1st, they doubled down on grit. You’re Locked on Bruins, your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins, part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. What is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the Locked On Boston Bruins podcast. I’m your host Ian McLaren and this is a daily show where we discuss all things spoke beat. Today is Wednesday, July 2nd. Thank you so much for making Lockdown Bruins your first listen every day. Part of the Lockdown podcast network, your team every day. And today we are unpacking an off season that started positively bold but has veered back into the caution lane. Don Sweeney spoke at length after July 1st about signings that he made yesterday and here’s how it all shakes out. We’re going to talk about this today. Why Victor Arvdson and Tanner Jano were key targets straight from Don Sweeny’s playbook. Another wave of free agent signings that were meant to spark internal competition but may have boxed out prospects. And the ultimate question, of course, is this team better than the one that finished dead last in the East this past season? Before we get into all that, a quick reminder. You can find the podcast on social media. Locked NHL Bruins. That’s X Blue Sky, Instagram, Threads, Tik Tok. got a video blowing up over there in which I said Don Sweeney was cooking and then of course a lot of people came back and pointed to what happened yesterday. Fair enough. Anyways, you can also find me my hockey thoughts and dad jokes at Ian C McLaren. I’m a lifelong Boston Bruins fan and I’ve been covering this team for various outlets for 20 years now. Now, in that Tik Tok that I referred to, I said that Don Sweeney has been cooking so far this off season, especially with the resigning of Morgan Geeki, with resigning Michael Dpietro, even bringing Henry Yokiharu back on a modest $3 million contract. He looked pretty good with Nikita Zadorov. And the hope was with $12 million in remaining cap space, they would make somewhat of a splash in free agency by adding a bonafide score top six winger at the very least. Now, in fairness, a lot of the big fish had already been signed or ended up resigning with their respective clubs. Even Brock Besser ended up going back to Vancouver. So, what the Bruins did prior to the start of free agency was target Victor Arvdson from the Edmonton Oilers, sending a 2027 fifthround pick to add some bonafide scoring potential and it’s a pretty smart move to bring him in. Sweeney said he was happy to welcome him. His competitors improving the power play. Both Marco Sturm and Steve Spot consulted on this move. It’s a plug-and-play. You can put him in and can pretty much if he plays a full season, which is a big question mark because of his age, some recent injuries, but he should be able to reach at least 15 20 goals. He’s averaged mid20s in goalc scoring production for the majority of his career. Even over the last few seasons where his game play has been diminished, those per game averages have remained. He had seven points in 15 playoff games, 15 goals in 67 regular season games. And it matters because Boston’s power play last season was woeful. Slow entries, stagnant play. Arbitson brings that net front instinct, timing, and finish directly addressing that issue. It’s a one-year commitment, $4 million. It’s a lowrisk, high reward ad that could even be flipped at the trade deadline for better than that fifth round pick that they used to pick him up. So that was a nice move and kind of went with their philosophy of evolving offensively and bringing in some more goal scorers. That was their big weakness last season. They could not score goals, especially in the power play to save their lives. But the problem is they followed that up by signing Tanner Jano to a fiveyear deal worth 3.4 million per season, a total of a $17 million investment. Now, it’s not a huge percentage of the cap, but that 5-year commitment and being tied to that 3.4 4 million when a guy like Jonathan Druer who brings a lot more offensive upside signed in New York for only two years and $4 million. That’s what they should have done. That’s the kind of move they should have um been targeting. Now, Sweeney said that the Bruins were an easy out last season. That was part of the problem. we need to get back to being a pain in the ass to play against, he said. So, he made the decision to target Arvidson for that offensive push, but he also said younger skilled players need breathing room and Tanner is going to bring a lot of that. He brings physicality and leadership. He drags people in and if they aren’t dragged in, they won’t play is his assessment of some of the other options on the roster. some of the young guys looking to make a push to full-time NHL jobs. They need to play not like a Tanner, you know, but bring that mentality like do or die, getting out there, running through brick walls to help this team win. Seven goals last season. He does have over a thousand hits over the last five seasons. Only three NHL forwards have more hits over the last five seasons than Tanner Jano. He did have a 24goal rookie year, but hasn’t come close to reaching that total. And going back to that athletic assessment yesterday, they called the Jano contract a textbook error, similar to Tampa Bay’s misstep in 2023 when they traded a handful of picks to the National Predators for Jano and then later quickly jettisoned him to Los Angeles. That contract got a D+ criticizing the long-term bet. And Connor Ryan, Boston.com added, “Jano is an on ice encapsulation of the 2024 25 Bruins. Third in the NHL in hits, 28th in goals. This is not where the Bruins needed to invest. And yes, again, it’s a modest investment. 3.4 million. It’s like between three and 4% against the cap, but that’s still money that you could have funneled else elsewhere. Between Arvinson and Jano, that’s 7.4 million. Almost what Brock Besser is getting from the Vancouver Conucks. Certainly enough to have brought in a guy like Jonathan Drew. It’s a heavy gamble. literally like you’re betting on heaviness, toughness, grit, and the move kind of doubles down on what kept the Bruins down last season, which is grit, depth, toughness, but a complete lack of finish. I’m not a fan of this move. Uh, with all due respect to Jano as a person, even a player, what he brings to the table, it’s just not what the Bruins needed. And they saw that when they traded Trent Frederick to the Edmonton Oilers. Um, some people have compared this trade to Matt Belliski or David Bakis. I’m not quite on that level. I mean, the Belliski comparison is kind of valid. He signed for 5 years, 3.8 million AAV, signed at age 27 after a career-high 22 goals that he was never able to replicate. Jano, 5 years, 3.4. He’s a year older, just 13 points last season. Uh, the backest contract, five years, 6 million AAV, signed at age 32. That one was a clear miss for the Bruins. All three were handed multi-year deals late in their 20s or early 30s prioritizing intangibles and physical edge and arrived with red flags in production. He’s brought in to bring leadership protection for young players, drag others into the fight. Uh same thing was said Abelliski brings playoff style hockey back as character leadership hard to play against all overpaid for grit instead of skill and it could come at the expense of development and cap flexibility. Janob could be seen as today’s Belliski and Bakis. Maybe not as much Bakis because he was making six million. Belliski, yeah, that’s a fair comparison. And history tells us these moves don’t age well, especially when they come at the expense of speed, scoring, and flexibility. Now, the Bruins weren’t done there. Uh Arvdson does serve Boston’s needs. You could argue Jano suits the Bruins soul, what they just can’t escape from. But the roster building did not stop there. Let’s get into the flood of midterms or yeah, midterm signings and what it means for next year’s roster. Do you ever wish managing your money felt a bit easier? With Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So, in addition to managing your money, you are also building wealth. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code lockednhl at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchmoney.com. Code locked on NHL for half off your first year. If you’ve ever looked at your spending and been surprised by how fast it adds up. Monarchmoney can start helping you today. Check out monarchmoney.com/lockdon NHL or code locked on NHL for half off your first year. All right, so we’ve discussed Arvdson Jano. Let’s look at the other signings. Again, Sweenie emphasized the need for internal competition. He wanted selfstarters who show up and earn their ice time. So, Boston went out and signed a handful of veterans and younger guys who could push for playing time this upcoming season. But he may have raised more questions than answers. I know a lot of people are excited about Shan Carali being back in black and gold. Two years, 1.85 million. He called him like Arbertson, plugandplay, a PK specialist who breaks leadership and adds good depth. But where does he play? Like are you who are you bumping out of the lineup to put Shan Carali in there? Fraser Mittton, John Beecher, Matt Potra. It’s a nice story to have him back and the Bruins social team was pumping the leap and some highlights, but I’m unmoved by this signing. Uh, Michael Essimont, two years, 1.45 million. Sweeney said he has a lot of juice as a forch checker and a penalty kill piece, but once again, another guy who in order to play him, you’re bumping somebody out who has perhaps more offensive upside. Now, I was pretty pumped with the signings of Matte Blume, the AHL’s top goal scorer with 39 goals. He said, “Sweeny did, if you score in the NHL, we want you here.” And he had a league leading 39 goals in the AHL last season. Alex Steves, another high AHL scorer, who Sweeney called a sleeper. Same message as Bluml. If you score, we want you here. You’ll be in the lineup. Jordan Harris on the back end. Left shot defenseman brings flexibility and adaptability under Marco Sturm. Riley Tuy brought back one-year two-way deal, 21 goals in Providence, size and wing depth option. Sweeney framed it as if a young player earns it, he will make the team. There’s room and there’s competition to be fought out in training camp. The Bruins had 12 million in cap space, but chose checking line depth over scoring upside aside from bringing in Victor Arbitson who’s taking up 4 million of that 12 million that was available this time yesterday. And as Connor Ryan of Boston.com wrote, the concern is when that skill set becomes the primary focus. Now, when it comes to Blumel and Steves, they’re proven goal scorers at the AHL level. There’s some question as to whether they can replicate that at the AH or sorry, the NHL level, which is kind of the same thing as what you’re wondering about Georgie Murcul, Fabian Lel. Um, this is one-year contracts that can be placed in the AHL, but the belief is that they can and will challenge for NHL playing time. These are NHL contracts, not two-way contracts or AHL contracts. When it you add Jano, Kerali, Esimont, that’s a third line, a fourth line on some teams, you’re therefore taking spots away from guys who are established there on the fourth line or third line or just at the very least jamming up the bottom six. Guys like Matt Potra, Fabian Lysel, Fraser Minton, Georgie Muof, Johnny Beecher all now face crowded middle and bottom six spots making it significantly harder to break through. There is some lowrisk upside here with Blumel and Steves, but the glut of veterans may shaft projections that Boston was ready to trust its youth. It’s the same old story. How many times have we seen this where there are opportunities open for guys to grab spots, but then they just sign a bunch of like go back a few years ago. Nick Felino, Eric Howa, Thomas Nosk signed, James Van Remike, Milan Luchuich, Kevin Shannonkirk signed. Um, how many times have we seen this play out where they prioritize depth over higherend players or higherend offensive players? At the very least, you’re not you don’t have to go out and get Nikolai Elers or Brock Besser or Mitch Mner, but a Jonathan Drewan would have been nice. Andra Majapani perhaps Tanner Jano may move the needle when it comes to face punching and getting the crowd amped, but it doesn’t do much in terms of wins and losses and most importantly improving a team whose offense was atrocious last season and who couldn’t score on the power play. Is the team better now than it was last season? Well, it’s tougher, but Boston needed finish. And we’re not talking about fins. We’re talking about scoring goals. Did they solve last season’s biggest problems in free agency? Uh, the answer is a pretty clear no. And we’ll discuss that here as the podcast continues. Now, Don Sweeney made it woefully clear on Tuesday, and we can all agree that the Bruins came up woefully short last season, ending up dead last in the East. Now, with this year’s revamped roster, is Boston any better? I’m not so sure. The group last season lacked consistent secondary scoring outside of David Posternok, Morgan Geeki chipping in. The power play fizzled and physically they may have hit hard but they couldn’t close out tight games. Inconsistent and were often quite, as Sweeney said, an easy out, losing some lopsided games. They added Victor Arvdson who brings proven offensive skill and power play acumen. Luml and Steves offer potential scoring depth that last year’s opening night roster completely lacked. They added some grit and some bite, some skill or I guess leadership, tenacity in Jano, Esimont Carali. Maybe that physicality was missing last year. supporting Sweeny’s goal to be tougher. But again, you’ve possibly sidelined some developing youth, Impatra, Lysel, Minton, Merculov, who are now battling for ice time before a more veteranladen bottom six. Some fringe younger players saw lineup minutes last season. It’s going to be difficult again. The defensive depth was bolstered by bringing Yoki Haru back, signing Jordan Harris, adding Victor Soderstrom, and you have more stability in net this season, but also some perhaps uncomfortable competition. Swayman will continue to be the anchor. Corposalo remains in the mix. A lot of us thought that perhaps the Arvdson trade would have resulted in Corposal moving out because we all know the Oilers need some goalending help. You’ve signed Michael DPro who is seemingly going to battle it out with Corbos for the backup job in training camp and whoever loses could very well be sent back to Providence. So, here’s the thing. You did add some secondary scoring in Victor Arvdson, but it’s uh not a long-term solution because he’s already 32. He’s only under contract for one more season. Perhaps if Blue or Steves crack the lineup, Boston gains an extra goal threat, and power play depth, but again, that could come at the expense of one of your homegrown guys like a Potra or a Lysel. At the end of the day, as Sweeney said, if you can score goals, you will be in the lineup. And perhaps that’s a knock on Mercury, who didn’t score in his six games last season. Fabian Lysel was only able to get on the board like once down the stretch. Jano Esimot Cari offer a physical presence that could enforce the pain in the ass identity Sweeney demands, something that last year’s group lacked. That’s kind of an indictment on last year’s leadership group as well and the coaching staff. They didn’t get guys up for those games and they were pushed around and again you saw so many lopsided losses last season. Harris adds depth and puck moving ability complimenting the core of Makavoy, Lindholm, Lurai, Zadorov. Now you have Peak Yokiharu on the right side. It’s a pretty solid blue line that could help the team remain competitive. And that’s going to be key because again, if the Bruins have any chance of bouncing back next season, it’s going to come from Jeremy Swayman getting back to the guy that we all believe he can be. Beyond Arbitson though, the Bruins still lack an elite scoring winger or center to properly complement Pastnack and Geeki. The scoring ceiling kind of remains moderate. And Don Sweeney even said, you know, you can’t bank on Morgan Geeki necessarily replicating his success from last season because he did have an inflated shooting percentage and it’s kind of a fool’s errand to expect that he will repeat that. Having said that, he believes he can still be like a at least a 25 or 20. Yeah, 25 goal scorer and should still push for topline minutes with David Posnock, Elias Lindholo up there with them to round things out. Um what it means for the youth again, who knows? But Don Sweeney thankful to get that Morgan Geeky deal done. He reiterated the Bruins offseason strategy is going to involve both trades and free agency with the aim of improving the team’s competitiveness and bringing juice back to the roster. And his goal, he said, was to balance internal improvement with external additions, boosting both skill and energy. Arvdson should bring competitiveness and power play ability. Jano brings physicality and energy, an edge to drag people into the fight. Uh Jano and Esimont may be used on the penalty kill and he just wants them to be harder to play against, but at this end of the day, you still need to score. Sweeney stated plainly, “If a young player earns a spot, he’s making the team.” So, what these guys have to do is embrace that competition and push one of these older guys out. Um, the power play was disconnected, predictable, failing at zone entries. Arvdson will help there. Geeky’s deal reflects a belief in sustained production. They’ve got some defensive depth now, leadership support, Jano and Carali. The new room will focus on energy, professionalism, and internal accountability. Marco Sturm is going to instill direct structured system and players who play the right way will get ice time. You got to be aggressive, structured, and also execute is the goal from there. and Blue Mel Steves are internal candidates who could surprise and compete for roster spots given their AHL scoring success last season. Blue Mel especially cited you know uh David Posternok fellow Czech as the reason why he signed. Sweeney believes team needs offensive growth from within, especially on the power play, emphasizing Steve Spot’s role there. They still have a bit of cap flexibility and draft capital and to make inseason trades if the offense doesn’t materialize. The UFA market was narrow. Other teams locked up their top UFAs before July 1st. Florida, Sam Bennett, Brett Marshon, Aaron Neckblad, Mitch Marner signing trade with Vegas, Brock Besser going back. Um, and so having said that, he believes that the additions that he’s made will help push some of the young guys who have an ability to step up and grab roster spots. and he also believes that the Bruins are tougher, deeper, more structured than last year’s low energy squad. They’re harder to play against, more battle ready. And with the addition of Arvdson and some guys coming up or pushing others out, that scoring should come. But the main problem remains unresolved. They lack elite scoring depth and star talent. Yeah, they added James Hagens probably a year away at the very least or maybe he comes later in the season, but they still only have David Poshak as like a legit top level scoring talent on this team. They don’t have a true number one center. They don’t have Yeah. anybody beyond PostRock really that you can bank on. All respect to Geeki who had that 33 goal season, but it’s kind of a let’s see it happen again situation before we know exactly who he is. The team might poke harder now. They might be more of a pain in the ass to play against, but can they defend better? Can they stop more pucks? And can they score enough goals to win close games or avoid being blown out 8-1 by the Carolina Hurricanes or being thrashed on opening night by the Florida Panthers? They came out last opening night looking to make a statement against the Panthers who kind of just laughed it off and dropped six goals on them. Yes. With Ununis Corposal making the smart the start. The ruins got grittier, but unless their young guns break loose or the scoring depth truly evolves by Blumel Steves taking next steps or Lysel and Merculov pushing those guys aside to claim their spots as Boston Bruins. They could be a bit better, harder to play against, but maybe not good enough to get back in the playoff mix sooner than later. Gavin McKenna waiting to be drafted next season. Uh it’s not quite the inspiring retool that we all hoped for. It kind of reminded me of the transition season that they believed they were in a couple years ago when they brought in Van Remdike, Luchich, Shatenkirk, um, and were able to get career years out of Charlie Coyle, Pavlo Zaka, ride that goalending tandem that they had at the time to great success and advance to the second round of the playoffs. Can this team do that? If they get career years out of a guy like Casey Middlestat, if Arvdson is healthy and scores 25 goals, 30 goals, if the defense can stay healthy and shut guys down, again, you have to look at last season and remember who was hurt, who was not in the lineup. um Pavlovaka can regain his form. A lot of things have to hit right for the Bruins to be competitive again next season. And as good as Don Sweeney has been so far this off season, yesterday felt like a bit of a step backwards. Uh going back to the future in a wrong way. like we went to the Biff Tannon timeline here with the Tanner Jano signing instead of riding the positive Marty McFly timeline with the New Jerseys. Anyways, that’s it for today’s follow-up assessment of July 1st free agent moves. Uh we will touch on development camp later on this week, what we learned about some of those prospects. Uh, we’ll touch on any other breaking news with respect to the Boston Bruins. Be sure to be locked on to YouTube, Tik Tok, Reels for the breaking news with respect to this team and check the uh podcast feeds and YouTube for full um breakdowns of what our Boston Bruins do. Uh, a lot of signings going on. Parker Witherspoon, Justin Brazo joining the Penguins. Um, I don’t know. The Bruins were just limited by kind of the free agent market, but also didn’t spend like they should have gone for Jonathan Drew over Tanner Janell. That’s just a no-brainer. Uh maybe they’re looking towards next summer when there could be some more free agents available, but again that’s kind of a fool’s errand seeing as how many guys were ressigned early this offseason. A bit of a cautionary tale there. Anyways, no off season here on lockdown. We’re staking daily for the next little bit. Although I will be off for a couple days next season and uh or sorry, next week I should say. You’re going to want to check out Locked on NHL next for all the news from around the league. And uh I really do hope you’ll stay with me here through the offseason. Please do take care of yourselves, take care of each other, and we’ll talk to you again here on the next episode of Lockdown Boston Bruins.

The Boston Bruins made a flurry of free agent signings on July 1, but did Don Sweeney do enough to improve a roster that finished last in the Eastern Conference?

Host Ian McLaren breaks down the front office’s strategy and comments, starting with the addition of Victor Arvidsson and the controversial five-year deal for Tanner Jeannot. In Segment 1, we dig into why these two players were targeted, what Sweeney said about toughness and protection for younger players, and whether these moves align with his offseason pledge to boost scoring.

In Segment 2, Ian evaluates the rest of Boston’s free agent signings — including Sean Kuraly, Michael Eyssimont, Matej Blumel, Alex Steeves, Jordan Harris, and Riley Tufte — and how they increase internal competition. Sweeney emphasized “guys who drag others into the fight,” but have these depth additions squeezed out players like Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell, and Georgii Merkulov?

In Segment 3, Ian compares the projected 2025-26 lineup with last year’s Opening Night roster and asks the big question: Are the Bruins actually any better now? With more grit but not a lot more scoring, and prospects still facing a blocked path to NHL minutes, the Bruins may be set for another season of stagnation.

Is this another Matt Beleskey or David Backes situation in the making? And did the Bruins really learn anything from last year’s failures?

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