The offseason improvement plan for the Bruins won’t begin in earnest until the Stanley Cup Final wraps up in the next couple of weeks, but there is encouraging news there for a Boston team that knows it must keep building.
The good news is that there will be players available in the exact areas of need the B’s clearly have on their roster, and that a selection of them will have various strengths and weaknesses based on what Boston is looking for. The top priority for the Bruins is to bring in a right-shot defenseman capable of holding down top-4 minutes, and the preference would be to bring in a player who could even have upside as a top-pair D-man, easing the burden currently on the shoulders of 28-year-old Charlie McAvoy and 32-year-old Hampus Lindholm.
The ideal candidate would be a younger player who’s either a restricted free agent or a trade target, and the additional good news for the Bruins is that they have the draft picks, the prospects and the ample salary cap space to pull off whatever move they decide is best for the long-term picture.
Of course, there are unrestricted free agents Rasmus Andersson and Darren Raddysh at the top of the UFA list, and the smart money says that the B’s will take another run at Andersson if he reaches free agency after being willing to trade assets and sign him to a massive contract extension a few months ago.
He’s had a decent enough D-man for the Golden Knights with five assists and a plus-4 in 16 playoff games for Vegas after arriving there at the trade deadline, and a Stanley Cup added to his resume would only add to his value.
But there are other, younger up-and-coming candidates out there like 22-year-old Slovakian D-man Simon Nemec, who may or may not be looking for a new team after posting 11 goals and 26 points in 63 games for the Devils last season. Or 22-year-old Olen Zellweger with the Anaheim Ducks, who posted seven goals and 22 points in 76 games for the Ducks last season after spending most of the last three seasons in Anaheim.
1 year ago today, Simon Nemec scored the game-winner in double OT 😈 pic.twitter.com/OcJeBtwKuH
— Devils Fanatics (@devilsfanatics) April 25, 2026
There are older options as well, with 6-foot-6 Blues defenseman Colton Parayko’s name mentioned prominently on the trade block after posting four goals and 18 points last season, though it would be difficult to imagine Parayko becoming a major improvement in terms of breakouts or improving Boston’s speed of attack. New Hampshire native Michael Kesselring is an interesting name coming off a down season in Buffalo, where things didn’t work out for the 26-year-old with the Sabres, but the 6-foot-5 D-man had seven goals and 29 points, along with 89 PIMs, in 82 games with Utah the previous season.
There is also 36-year-old John Carson entering free agency after a long, distinguished stint with the Washington Capitals that ended with him being traded to the Ducks this past season in the final year of his contract.
JOHN CARLSON WITH HIS FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK 🎩
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) April 10, 2026
1,143 games with the Caps, and his first hat trick comes in game 13 with the Ducks 🤯 pic.twitter.com/UmEOhc5DSs
Carlson had 14 goals and 60 points with Washington and Anaheim this past season and has been remarkably productive, healthy and strong while racking up over 700 points in 1159 career NHL games. He might be a cheaper option in terms of term as a 36-year-old player, but there will undoubtedly be plenty of competition for his services from teams that believe they are one quality D-man away from a Stanley Cup.
If the Bruins are looking to strictly improve their breakout and pump up their offense from the back end, he would be an intriguing short-term solution while continuing to develop a long-term solution there. And the word on the street is that he wants to return to the East Coast after spending the bulk of his career in Washington DC with the Capitals.
The bottom line in all of this: The Bruins have varied options and a wealth of resources to get done exactly what they need to this offseason and now comes the matter of executing it and landing the pieces that they need.
ONE TIMERS
*Congrats to Team Finland players Henri Jokiharju and Joonas Korpisalo for defeating Switzerland in the gold medal game at the 2026 IIHL World Championships. It was an impressive run for Finland, who beat Canada in the semi-finals before besting the host Swiss team in the final game while enjoying a healthy Sasha Barkov leading the Finns to victory.
Jokiharju finished with two goals and eight points along with a plus-10 rating in the tournament and was a strong contributor to a Finnish team that played dominant hockey at the international tournament. Justus Annunen played the majority of games in net for the Finns, but Korpisalo won a pair of games and posted an impressive .947 save percentage as well during the tournament.
It was a nice final moment for both players this season as Korpisalo and Jokiharju both will have plenty of competition in NHL camp with the Black and Gold next fall after very up-and-down seasons with the Bruins this past year. Jokiharju, in particular, will need to consistently show more after finishing well in the lineup during the playoffs, following a period when it felt like Marco Sturm lost confidence in the puck-moving defenseman amid some defensive troubles and at times simply being strong on the puck.
“It's allowing a coach to make his own assessments of how players are playing and systematically, and on Henri [Jokiharju] to respond to that,” said Don Sweeney. “There are times he did really well. 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 [playoff series against Buffalo], with the stakes where they were, he's a pro. He responded really well.
“I saw him play in the Olympics and the same thing. So, from a capability standpoint, a lot of it's still on the player to provide what the coach is looking for and to 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. No different than Mason [Lohrei], to tell you the honest truth.”
*While many will complain that the Stanley Cup Final isn’t really a traditional matchup with longtime markets now that it’s going to be the Carolina Hurricanes against the Vegas Golden Knights, is it really all that important that it’s not a matchup of big-time, metropolitan TV markets?
These are clearly the two best hockey teams left, given how they both lit a blowtorch through the conference playoffs, and should make for a fantastic final playoff series for the Cup. And that is really what it’s all about. The coaching matchup is phenomenal with Rod Brind’Amour and John Tortorella. Both teams have a wealth of exciting young players, grizzled vets and so-so goaltending that could make for some highly entertaining games.
And this is Carolina’s time to finally ascend if they are ever going to after failing time and time again in the playoffs during previous postseasons. Just look at this promo video that they put together ahead of Tuesday night’s Game 1 of the playoff series as one can tell this organization has been waiting a long, long time for this.
Jim Valvano taught us to enjoy life and to cherish every moment.
— Carolina Hurricanes (@Canes) June 2, 2026
As we continue this journey, we’re reminded that the Stanley Cup Final is about more than hockey. It’s about people, purpose, sacrifice, and appreciating the moments that bring us together. pic.twitter.com/K5c7PGSz6p
Put me down for Carolina winning it all in seven games. See you all at the rink.