The quiet part of the summer is here for the NHL. The Entry Draft is done and free agency is in the rearview mirror, it’s time for the quiet time of the offseason. Sure, you could have a trade or two and if you’re a fan of the Boston Bruins, you should be hoping one or two does happen.
Depending on who you ask, it was a fairly underwhelming free agency for Bruins general manager Don Sweeney who signed a bunch of forwards on some short-term deals, except for Tanner Jeannot who got a five-year, $17 million contract. A trade for Viktor Arvidsson appears to be the way that Sweeney looked to fill the goal-scoring wing issue, but there is one need that still needs to be filled and that’s at center. Despite that, ESPN graded each team for the 2025 Draft, free agency and trades.
ESPN offers generous grade for Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney
ESPN writers Ryan S. Clark and Kristen Shelton hand out report cards and grades for moves made over the last couple of weeks with the draft, free agency, and trades. They gave Sweeney and the Bruins a B, which is generous considering what has happened.
You could make the case that the grade is surrounded the draft, which is weird to see under Sweeney. James Hagens fell to them at No. 7, then they got another steal in the second round when Will Moore was available. at No. 51. Boston has been known to have one of the NHLs worst prospect pools and believe it or not, some people around the league are starting to take notice of a group that is beginning to improve.
As far as trades go, Sweeney swung one for Arvidsson from the Edmonton Oilers and on a deal that expires for the 2025-26 season, a player playing in a contract year might be beneficial to the Black and Gold.
Then there’s free agency when Jeannot got the biggest contract, but Sweeney still hasn’t addressed the biggest need his team had and still has, a top-six center. Whether or not it gets addressed remains to be seen, but if the Bruins enter the season with the same centering grouping, then the results up the middle might not be solved. It’s going to be difficult at this point as addressing it through a trade, which would likely require a haul going the other way.
Some may think that a B is a good grade, but considering how free agency went, a B is a generaous grade as a more appropriate grade might have been a C+, but we’ll see who things all shake out next season.