NHL Notes: Lohrei at a crossroads with the Bruins taken at BSJ Headquarters (Bruins)

Getty Images

Mason Lohrei is coming off a solid overall NHL season where he bounced back from the previous year's plus/minus disaster, but it again ended on a down note as a healthy scratch in the playoffs.

Bruins

NHL Notes: Lohrei at a crossroads with the Bruins

By Joe Haggerty

May 24, 2026 • 1:55 pm

11comment-bubble

Mason Lohrei is the kind of young player that can be incredibly challenging from a development perspective.

The 25-year-old has oodles of offensive skill and has been one of the most productive D-men for the Bruins in back-to-back seasons while finishing with seven goals and 26 points in 73 games this season while drastically improving his plus/minus from a grotesque minus-43 two years ago to a plus-17 this past season while largely playing his “off side” on the right as a left-shot defenseman.

And the young D-man is obviously well-regarded enough that he’s been on Team USA’s radar for the World Championships in each of the last two seasons and has been a top-4 guy throughout the international tournament.  Lohrei doesn’t have any points to this point in the tourney, but he’s been a steady blueliner for an American group that’s featured fellow B’s players James Hagens and Alex Steeves, as well as old friend Connor Clifton.

But there are still dips and valleys in the always challenging development path for a young D-man, and he hit a big one at the end of this year when he was a healthy scratch for the last few playoff games against the Buffalo Sabres.

It felt like Lohrei was still processing all of that when the season was over, as the Bruins held their breakup day.

“[It was] definitely just another…another step in the process is kind of how I look at it and just assess what I need to work on this summer and then go from there,” said Lohrei. “I honestly haven't thought too much [about the season]. It's only been a couple days here, but I'm sure once I get out of here, I'll be able to reflect more.

“It's kind of always the same thing. I always try to get faster, quicker, you know, foot speed and that's a big one is just skating and getting quicker and then continue to get stronger and fill out my frame. It's kind of the same thing every summer, to be honest with you.”

Jordan Harris stepped in and was a downgrade from Lohrei in Game 4, but Henri Jokiharju played well in a bottom-pairing role in the last couple of postseason games before Boston was eliminated by the Buffalo Sabres.

“A lot of times Henri [Jokiharju] came back in the lineup, and his first game was really good, and maybe it drops off a little bit. But coming back into the middle of the series, with the stakes where they were, he's a pro. He responded really well,” said Don Sweeney. “I saw him play in the Olympics and the same thing. So from a capable standpoint, a lot of it's still on the player to be able to provide what the coach is looking for and adjust. And then the coach has to reset. If he does do that, you've got to give him a little rope to allow it to play out.

“[It was] no different than Mason [Lohrei], to tell you the honest truth, going through a stretch of when he goes to play with Hampus [Lindholm] [and] played 20, 25 games [at a high level]. There was a lot more conviction. There was a lot more crispness to his game. And unfortunately, he had some hiccups in the game, and they made a decision there. Doesn't mean we lose confidence in the player. Players sometimes lose confidence in themselves, and you've got to battle that back.”

While not the sole reason for assistant coach Jay Leach reportedly departing the B’s coaching staff ahead of next season, it would be surprising if Lohrei’s good-but-not-great development didn’t play some role in a change to the defensive voice on the Boston staff. It also stands to reason that the B’s will be listening on trade overtures for Lohrei this offseason after he was reportedly one of the key pieces heading back to Calgary in the trade offers for Rasmus Andersson that never came to fruition this past season.

Lohrei would be a prime, young NHL roster piece that could be headed the other way if the Bruins go the trade route to find another top 4 defenseman for their roster that would put them much closer to being Stanley Cup-contending caliber. It's very easy to see him as one of the pieces headed to New Jersey, for instance, after it was learned this week that former No. 2 overall pick Simon Nemec may want out of New Jersey and the Devils organization. 

Then again, perhaps there is also a benefit to continuing to show patience with Lohrei’s game, as the skills and talent are obviously there, and the defenseman's position can require hundreds of NHL games' worth of experience before a player truly hits their highest potential ceiling. And to look at it from an organizational standpoint, Lohrei is the only homegrown drafted-and-developed player that has grown into to being a regular NHL player that the Bruins have to show for the NHL Drafts from 2018-2021 

Certainly, Sweeney continues to take that way of Lohrei while pointing to a midseason stretch in which he played with Hampus Lindholm, during which he played some of his best hockey to this point in his NHL career. But was that pumping up an asset that the Bruins might very well be dealing this summer, or does it truly feel like Lohrei is a part of the long-term plan even as there are still questions about his defensive-minded toughness and ability to make plays offensively while being a sound two-way D-man capable of handling top-4 minutes.

It’s a tall order for the gifted 6-foot-5, 220-pound defenseman still learning his trade for a Bruins team that badly needs a young D-man to step up and undeniably claim a top-4 spot on a team that needs puck-moving help on their breakout like some poor soul dying of thirst needs water in the desert.

ONE TIMERS

• While he again didn’t end up on the scoresheet, it was enlightening to see James Hagens get moved over to center and play one of his best games since leaving Boston College for Team USA over the weekend. The Americans lost a 4-2 game to Latvia in a game that continued to signal that there probably isn’t a medal for this team this time around, but it also should give the Bruins plenty to think about as the 19-year-old showed the speed to easily get through the neutral zone as a puck transporter, and played well while in the middle with Bruins winger Alex Steeves and promising 22-year-old AHL forward Isaac Howard.

None of it changes the short-term plan for Hagens, which is likely to be playing him on the wing next season and slotting him a little lower in the lineup while he gains overall comfort playing against higher-level competition. But he also looked like he was able to unleash his speed and play a little more of his natural game while skating in the middle, and that is something to think about while also being able to surround him with big, heavy wingers like Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic that could protect the slight youngster in his first full NHL go-round.

• There has still been nothing official from the Boston Bruins on it, but it is reported by The Fourth Period that the B’s are parting ways with assistant coach Jay Leach after he had served as an assistant coach for both Jim Montgomery and Marco Sturm over the last couple of seasons.

Leach was in charge of the defensemen among other things and it’s not surprising that he was the guy where the buck stopped when the Bruins had coverage issues in their own zone, had major issues with the breakout particularly in the playoffs and watched as Mason Lohrei continued his stop-and-start development track at the NHL level with highs and then lows like getting healthy scratched for the last few playoff games.

Ultimately, it also makes a lot of sense for Marco Sturm to bring in one of his own coaches (maybe Chris Hajt) after he inherited last season’s staff from Jim Montgomery, albeit with Steve Spott added to the mix as well. Or for Providence Bruins head coach Ryan Mougenel to get a look on Sturm’s NHL staff after some very strong years in Providence that culminated with him winning the AHL coach of the year award last season.

• Some encouraging signs all around from the IIHF World Championships from a Bruins perspective, as Alex Steeves has consistently played a top-6 role for Team USA and played very well with a number of different linemates, and Lukas Reichel has been helping a surprising Germany team and finished with a hat trick against Austria that helped push them ahead of the Americans in the group standings.

None of them are having the kind of tournament that Fraser Minten is enjoying for Team Canada, however, as his stock continues to go up and up for the Bruins with each piece of development added to his 200-foot, two-way game.

Show Comments
Loading...
Loading...
11
Show comments for this article