The Boston Bruins were not a good defensive team in the 2024-25 NHL season. The goaltending was subpar, too, highlighted by Jeremy Swayman's career-worst campaign with the B's.
But perhaps the biggest weakness that sunk the Bruins this past season was an inability to consistently score goals, both at even strength and the power play.
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WATCH HERERe-establishing a strong, fundamentally sound defensive structure that's hard to play against and getting Swayman back on track will be critical in the Bruins' road back to prominence. But ultimately, teams have to score goals to win games.
The Bruins hired Marco Sturm as their 30th head coach in franchise history last week. One of his toughest challenges will be to improve the team's scoring production.
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SIGN UP "I think in the Bruins DNA is playing well defensively, that's not going to change, but we have to find a way to be more productive offensively," Sturm said Tuesday during his introductory press conference. "That's going to be our goal and what we're going to address from Day 1, and obviously special teams will be a big part, too."
The Bruins not being able to generate enough offense didn't just begin last season. It was an issue during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, too, especially in the second-round loss to the eventual champion Florida Panthers.
But the 2024-25 campaign was where it became a severe problem for an entire season.
The phrase "evolving offensively" was used several times during Sturm's press conference Tuesday. What exactly does that mean? How does Sturm plan to ignite this struggling offense? A good chunk of it starts in the defensive zone by forechecking hard, winning battles, getting the puck up ice quickly and playing with speed.
"When I talk about scoring more goals, scoring goals is not just (playing) in the offensive zone," Sturm said. "Yes, that's where the puck is going to end up, but for me it always starts with: How are we going to get there? That's a big part, too, not just focusing on one area. There's areas we can definitely get better.
"It's coming out with the puck. We want to have the puck more. We have to have better zone entries and not turn pucks over. I think that part was a big issue. In the offensive zone, we'll put that structure in place, but we also have to be more hungry and we got to have a better mindset. ... I want them to have that offensive mindset and mentality when we have the puck. We want to play with pace with and without the puck, and not just think but play the game fast."
The power play was a significant area of weakness last season for the Bruins offense.
The Bruins ranked 29th in both power-play percentage and power-play goals. The issue wasn't drawing enough penalties. The B's ranked 11th in power-play opportunities and sixth in power-play ice time. The problem was poor execution, specifically with zone entries and winning enough puck battles to maintain possession in the offensive zone with the man advantage.
"A lot of it was entries, a lot of it was some injuries, but those are not excuses," Sweeney said of the power-play struggles. "We have to find a way to be more connected, more predictable (to each other) and understand what our strengths are as a group. We spent a lof of time on it.
"The personnel could change between now and Opening Night, but there are some guys who will have to go in and execute who are currently on our roster. We're going to attack that.
"... There was a lot of time spent on addressing special teams overall because it had been a strength of our team for a lot of years and we took a significant step back last year."
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Sweeney also confirmed that Jay Leach, Chris Kelly and Bob Essensa are staying on the coaching staff, and that they are looking to hire one more assistant. Sturm wants that hire to be a person with "some power play experience."
A key aspect in improving offensively will be player development. It's an area Sturm excelled in with the Los Angeles Kings organization over the last seven years.
Plenty of young players will be in the mix for roster spots in training camp. Sturm did a great job helping the Kings' top young players -- Quinton Byfield and Brandt Clarke, for example -- get ready for the NHL and thrive when they made the jump full time. Can he do the same with Fraser Minten, Fabian Lysell and Matt Poitras, among others?
The Bruins brought in Casey Mittelstadt at the trade deadline as part of the Charlie Coyle trade with the Colorado Avalanche. Maximizing Mittelstadt's playmaking ability and finding ways for him to score more goals (his career high is 18) will be important. Elias Lindholm was disappointing offensively after signing a huge contract last summer. Can Sturm find a way to make Lindholm more effective on the power play?
And last but not least, the Bruins have to generate more scoring chances and goals from the blue line.
Zero Boston defensemen tallied 35-plus points last season. Getting Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy back healthy will help with that, but the defensemen have to be aggressive and join the rush more often. The development of 24-year-old defenseman Mason Lohrei, who tallied 33 points in his first full NHL season, will be an essential part of that process.
External upgrades to the roster will have to be made in the coming weeks and months as well, and that's Sweeney's job. The Bruins do not have much high-end offensive skill. They have one elite forward in David Pastrnak, who recorded 106 points (43 goals, 63 assists) last season.
Pastrnak led the B's in scoring by 49 points -- the largest gap between the No. 1 and No. 2 scorer on any team. Morgan Geekie scored 33 goals. Brad Marchand scored 21 before being traded in March. No one else on the roster scored more than 17 goals.
Sweeney has to be aggressive in the offseason to bring in top-six talent, whether that's in free agency, the trade market or both. The Bruins have around $26.2 million in salary cap space, in addition to a better collection of prospects and draft picks to use in trades. Boston could have five first-round picks and four second-round picks over the next three drafts. That's a lot of draft capital to potentially use in trades to acquire established players.
Depth wins championships, especially up front. It's one of the primary reasons why the Panthers are two wins away from back-to-back titles. The Bruins need to bolster their scoring depth to have a chance at competing for a playoff spot in 2026.
"I love our team, even without any additions," Sturm said. "I think we have good goaltending. I think when everyone stays healthy we have a really good defensive corps. I think we're hopefully going to add a few pieces up front, but overall, I do like our core.
"But having said that, I think depth-wise we just probably need a little bit more."
