Author: Marcus Antonelli

As the Stanley Cup playoffs progress, it is becoming more evident that the remaining teams in contention for the Stanley Cup have a blend of speed and skill that benefits a team’s game in all facets. According to Shawn Hutcheon of The Fourth Period, the Boston Bruins are looking to add that exact attribute to their offseason checklist.

Before the 2025-26 NHL season, Bruins management entered with a clear indication of what style they wanted their roster to play like. A hard-nosed, physical team that would be a hard-out in every contest, no matter the circumstances. As a team with a fan base that expects a competitive hockey club to contend for a championship, this was the foundation laid by President Cam Neely and General Manager Don Sweeney in their construction of this past year’s Bruins squad.

The Bruins proved themselves a tough team to roll over throughout 2025-26; they ended with 18 wins (fourth in NHL) after allowing a goal first. Having made the playoffs after a tumultuous year in which they selected seventh overall in the 2025 NHL Draft, management found a key weakness in their first-round matchup with the Buffalo Sabres: speed. Neely said that it was an attribute that the team was looking to acquire in “one way, shape, or form.”

The Sabres finished second in the regular season in 18-20 mph skating speed bursts with 6962 per NHL EDGE, and had Beck Malenstyn, who finished with the top skating speed recorded all year at 24.94 mph. If you compare both teams in terms of speed bursts, Buffalo had nearly one hundred speed bursts at 22mph or higher. Boston’s players eclipsed that number just 54 times in comparison.

So where do the Bruins go from here? Now that their season has ended, they have a lengthy window to evaluate where they can address their lack of speed. Boston currently holds the 23rd overall pick as their highest of seven total draft picks that they’d ideally use to restock their prospect pool. If they wanted to, they could take a swing and make a trade for a player who could complement the team’s current forward group and elevate the team’s pace. How they’ll approach that remains to be seen, but with a little above $16MM in cap space, there is some wiggle room to find a fit.

Option 1: Owen Tippett

Tippett is a familiar name for those who kept tabs on the rumor mill with the Bruins during the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. The 27-year-old winger finished his 2025-26 season with 28 goals and 51 points in 81 games and added two points in six playoff games with the Flyers before suffering a sports hernia injury that sidelined him in Philadelphia’s eventual second-round loss to Carolina.

Tippett, with the tenth-highest top speed tracked at 23.97 mph, would be an accessible option for the Bruins to package assets in a trade for his services. Not only would he add the goal-scoring touch that Boston would benefit from in their middle-six forward group, but he finished this season 2nd among all NHL skaters in most +22 mph speed bursts with 61 total. He tallied more than stars like Tim Stutzle, Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brayden Point, and trailed Connor McDavid (151) for most bursts above that mark.

Option 2: Bobby McMann

The forward with a 6-foot-2, 209 lb frame may not appeal as a speedy option when reading that profile, but McMann is a fast player at that size. McMann tracked the league’s seventh fastest top speed at 24.25 mph and finished with 28 speed bursts above 22 mph.

McCann’s current situation makes him an even more appealing option. The 29-year-old is coming off a 14-point stretch in 18 games after the trade deadline when the Toronto Maple Leafs sent him to the Seattle Kraken for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2026 fourth-round pick. His 32 points with the Maple Leafs before that deal total 46 points in 78 games this past year. A career year will command a solid salary as McMann enters his 30’s, but one the Bruins could consider signing when July 1 hits.

Option 3: Olen Zellweger

Zellweger is a younger option the Bruins could consider; however, it would be one that would cost a prettier penny. Among all Ducks defensemen this past year, no one was faster than Zellweger. He tracked a top skating speed of 22.49 mph and eight +22 speed bursts

Zellweger had not seen ice-time in the playoffs in any capacity up until last night’s Game 4 win over the Vegas Golden Knights and hadn’t skated since April 7th of the regular season. He is 22 years old, and his entry-level contract is expiring, making him a restricted free agent this summer with Anaheim. The Bruins could use a youthful jolt on their left side, especially one with NHL experience; the former 2021 second-round pick had 22 points in 76 games this year.

Given the roster turnover Boston has had over the last two years, the team is significantly younger than it has been. Younger pieces like Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov are the team’s faster players, who could lean on speed development if none of these outside pieces become available. However, if the team wants to keep pace with the Montreal’s and Buffalo’s of the East, getting uncomfortable and making a swing would be in their best interest.