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Bruins Sign Mason Lohrei To Two-Year Extension

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4 PM: The details of Lohrei’s contract have been revealed. He will make a $2.95MM salary, and carry a $250K signing bonus, in the first year of his deal. In year two, the signing bonus will be lumped into his salary, earning him $3.2MM on the year. Contract details come courtesy of PuckPedia.

10 AM: The Bruins signed pending RFA defenseman Mason Lohrei to a two-year extension on Monday, per a club announcement. He’ll count $3.2MM against the cap for the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns for a total contract value of $6.4MM.

Lohrei, 24, lands a bridge deal coming off his first full NHL season. The 2020 second-round pick has shown promise as a puck-mover and a potential top-four option on Boston’s left side to complement Hampus Lindholm, but he’s not fully there yet.

A knee injury that ended Lindholm’s season in November meant Boston had to play Lohrei in more minutes than they would have liked. He was always meant as a longer-term project with some raw defensive details in his game, and that was extremely apparent in 2024-25. Averaging over 19 minutes per game, Lohrei actually led Boston defensemen in scoring with 33 points (5 G, 28 A) in 77 appearances but earned the distinction of having the worst plus-minus mark in the league this year, checking in at a gnarly -43 mark. While that figure is a bit exaggerated due to poor goaltending, he still only managed a 47.5 xGF% at 5-on-5 according to Natural Stat Trick – a pedestrian figure, even compared to his Bruins teammates.

Lohrei wasn’t Calder-eligible because he split 2023-24 somewhat evenly between Boston and AHL Providence. He put up a 4-9–13 scoring line with a minus-two rating in 41 games in his first taste of NHL action last year, averaging a hair under 17 minutes per night.

He’s shown the ability to be more of a two-way threat at the collegiate and AHL levels, and the Bruins are banking on him discovering how to translate that to the NHL in what they hope can be more sheltered minutes next season. That’s where virtually all of his upside lies – despite boasting a 6’5″, 220-lb frame, he’s not a particularly physical defender. He only logged 25 hits this year. If he can’t become a well-rounded enough player to convert into a top-four fixture, they’re not taking much of a risk today by only making a short-term commitment with a reasonable qualifying offer upon expiry in 2027.

The extension takes Lohrei up to his last summer of team control. A one-year extension on the end would walk him right to unrestricted free agency in 2028. As for Boston’s cap situation, they still have over $23MM left to spend, but still have another notable RFA to sign in breakout forward Morgan Geekie. They also have only 27 standard contracts signed throughout the active roster and non-roster lists for 2025-26.

Image courtesy of Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images.

Geekie: Contract Talks 'Pretty Preliminary' So Far

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  • Bruins forward Morgan Geekie told Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that discussions on a new contract have been “pretty preliminary” so far. The 26-year-old was non-tendered the last time he was a pending restricted free agent, signing a two-year, $4MM deal with Boston that proved to be quite a bargain.  Geekie had 39 points in 2023-24 and then followed that up with a 33-goal, 57-point effort this season.  That could push his price tag past the $5MM mark on a multi-year deal this time around.  He’s arbitration-eligible but with hearings generally running from July 20 to August 4, it’s possible that Boston’s plan is to simply let him file for arbitration late next week and then start to have more substantive discussions on a new agreement at that time.

Boston Bruins Hire Steve Spott As Assistant Coach

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The Boston Bruins have hired their third assistant coach for the 2025-26 NHL season, joining Chris Kelly and Jay Leach. The Bruins announced they’ve hired Steve Spott as their final assistant coach, and he’ll primarily work with the team’s power play.

Despite spending most of his adult life in varying roles for the OHL’s Plymouth Whalers and Kitchener Rangers, Spott didn’t join the professional ranks until the 2013-14 season, when he was named head coach of the Toronto Marlies. Spott coached the Marlies to a 45-25-2-4 record, a North Division title, and a Western Conference Final appearance. That one-year test as the Marlies head coach earned Spott a promotion to the Toronto Maple Leafs’ bench in the 2014-15 season as an assistant coach.

After two years with the Maple Leafs organization, Spott joined Pete DeBoer’s staff with the San Jose Sharks ahead of the 2015-16 season. The two had previously worked together in Kitchener and enjoyed success with the Sharks, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2016. Unfortunately, the two were fired midway through the 2019-20 season after the Sharks got off to a 15-16-2 start.

It wouldn’t take long for either to find work, as Spott and DeBoer were both hired by the Vegas Golden Knights in their same roles a month later. Their time in Vegas was short-lived, and both were let go after the Golden Knights failed to make the playoffs in the 2021-22 season.

Continuing to work together, DeBoer brought Spott with him to the Dallas Stars for the 2022-23 NHL season. Spott and DeBoer led the Stars to three consecutive Western Conference Finals, but they did not reach the Stanley Cup Final. Dallas finished with a top-10 powerplay in two out of three years with Spott serving as the team’s primary powerplay coach.

Boston Bruins Interested In Islanders' Alexander Romanov

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Boston Bruins Announce Development Camp Roster

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Today, the Boston Bruins announced their preliminary roster for the upcoming development camp as the offseason approaches. The 22-player roster will surely grow, especially after the Bruins make their seven selections in the 2025 NHL Draft, if not more. The current iteration of the roster is as follows, and will include where each player was rostered during the 2024-25 campaign, and their draft ranking:

Forwards

Dalton Bancroft (Cornell University, undrafted)
Andre Gasseau (Boston College, 213th overall, 2021)
Beckett Hendrickson (University of Minnesota, 124th overall, 2023)
Dean Letourneau (Boston College, 25th overall, 2024)
Bret Link (Colorado College, undrafted)
Jonathan Morello (Dubuque Fighting Saints, 154th overall, 2024)
Logan Morrell (Arizona State University, undrafted)
Casper Nässén (Miami University (Ohio), 214th overall, 2023)
Chris Pelosi (Quinnipiac University, 92nd overall, 2023)
Ryan Walsh (Cornell University, 188th overall, 2023)
Ethan Whitcomb (University of Connecticut, undrafted)
Will Zellers (Green Bay Gamblers, 76th overall, 2024)

Defensemen

Jackson Edward (Providence Bruins, 200th overall, 2022)
CJ Foley (Dartmouth College, undrafted)
Ty Gallagher (Colorado College, 217th overall, 2021)
Elliott Groenewold (Quinnipiac University, 110th overall, 2024)
Loke Johansson (Moncton Wildcats, 186th overall, 2024)
Kristian Kostadinski (Boston College, 220th overall, 2023)
Ben Robertson (Cornell University, undrafted)

Goalies

Albin Boija (University of Maine, undrafted)
Cameron Korpi (University of Michigan, undrafted)
Philip Svedebäck (Providence College, 117th overall, 2021)

Multiple Teams Showing Interest In Jean-Gabriel Pageau

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With a center trade market that might not be as busy as initially anticipated and one top option (Brock Nelson) off the UFA list already, teams will be starting to take a look at other options to try to upgrade down the middle.  It appears one of the players is receiving some attention now as Stefen Rosner of The Hockey News relays (Twitter links) that at least three teams have called to inquire about Islanders middleman Jean-Gabriel Pageau over the last week.  One of those teams is believed to be the Bruins.

The 32-year-old will be entering the final year of his contract next season on a deal that carries a $5MM cap charge but only a $3.5MM salary.  Pageau will have some say in the matter as well as he has a 16-team no-trade clause.

Pageau has been a speculative trade candidate for a couple of years now with the Islanders often running close to having salary cap issues.  At the time, the thought was that New York might have to incentivize a team to take on Pageau’s contract or potentially pay it down in order to get a positive-value return.

That shouldn’t be the case now, however.  With an expiring contract and a thinning-out market, new GM Mathieu Darche should be in a good spot to elicit a good return for Pageau’s services.

It also certainly helps that Pageau is coming off one of his best offensive years.  This season, he had 14 goals and 28 assists in 79 games.  His assist total was a career-high while his point total came in one shy of his personal best set back in 2015-16 with Ottawa.  Over his past four seasons, he has notched at least 33 points and has scored double-digit goals in 10 of the last 11 years.

Pageau has also long been an above-average player at the faceoff dot and took that to another level in 2024-25, winning a career-best 59.6% of his draws while leading all Islander forwards in shorthanded ice time.  Basically, he continues to be a middle-six option as he has been for the last several seasons.

The Islanders have nearly $21MM in projected cap space this summer, per PuckPedia.  However, with a long list of restricted free agents to contend with, that money is going to get spent up in a hurry and New York will be right back up against the cap ceiling.  That makes Pageau a logical candidate to try to move over the coming weeks and it appears New York will have multiple suitors for his services if they go that route.

The fit in Boston would be intriguing.  The Bruins already have Elias Lindholm, Casey Mittelstadt, and Pavel Zacha under contract while youngsters Fraser Minten and Matthew Poitras are waiting in the wings.  While Boston could use a center upgrade toward the top of their lineup, Pageau would fit more in the middle of their forward group where their depth already lies.  That said, one of the veterans could be moved to the wing if need be or moved elsewhere if GM Don Sweeney wants to further shake up his group.  In the meantime, we’ll see in the coming weeks if any other suitors emerge for Pageau’s services.

Bruins Sign Victor Soderstrom

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Boston didn’t waste any time getting their newest blueliner under contract.  After acquiring the rights to Victor Soderstrom on Friday, the Bruins announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a one-year, two-way contract.  The NHL portion of the deal will pay the minimum salary of $775K while the AHL salary was not disclosed.

The 24-year-old was a first-round pick back in 2019 when Arizona drafted him 11th overall.  However, his development has not quite gone as well as the then-Coyotes would have hoped.

While Soderstrom saw NHL action in four straight seasons from 2020-21 through 2023-24, he only got into 53 games overall.  Instead, he spent most of his time in North America in the minors, spanning 170 contests.  His 2023-24 performance was arguably his best as he had 32 points in 62 games with AHL Springfield but that didn’t yield much in the way of a chance in Arizona as he played just three times with them that year, leading him to voice his frustration with his lack of opportunity.

As a result, Soderstrom didn’t want to re-sign with that organization (which moved to Utah last offseason) while, at the time at least, Utah didn’t want to trade him.  At an impasse, the blueliner decided to go back home, signing a two-year deal with SHL Brynas.  With one year left on that agreement, it’s clear that the agreement had an NHL out clause.

Soderstrom had a solid season in Sweden, posting nine goals and 28 assists in 49 regular season games with Brynas while logging over 22 minutes a night of playing time.  While he didn’t post points at the same level in the playoffs, he chipped in with eight points in 17 outings in a little more than 23 minutes per game of ice time.  Along the way, Chicago acquired his rights as part of the move that saw them add Shea Weber’s contract to their books and the thought was that the Blackhawks might try to sign Soderstrom themselves this summer.

Clearly, that didn’t happen and Chicago’s prospect depth on the back end might have had something to do with that, leading to Friday’s trade.  Boston’s right-shot defensive depth isn’t as deep as Charlie McAvoy and Andrew Peeke are the only two regular blueliners who shoot from that side.  As a result, there could be an opportunity for Soderstrom to push for a roster spot with the Bruins although a lot can change between now and the start of training camp that could affect that chance.  Either way, Soderstrom will be getting a second opportunity to play in North America this season.

Blackhawks Trade Rights To Victor Soderstrom To Bruins

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The Chicago Blackhawks have traded the rights to Swedish defenseman Victor Soderstrom to the Boston Bruins in exchange for defense prospect Ryan Mast and a seventh-round pick, per Scott Powers of The Athletic. Soderstrom made a return to Sweden’s SHL this season, after spending the last four years muddling through the Arizona Coyotes depth chart. Chicago acquired his rights alongside the rights to depth forward Aku Raty and retired defender Shea Weber at the 2025 Trade Deadline. In return, the now-Utah Mammoth received a 2026 fifth-round pick.

It’s an apt time to buy high on Soderstrom’s NHL rights. He had a true breakout year in the SHL, netting nine goals and 37 points in 49 appearances. Those marks ranked Soderstrom second on the Brynas IF blue-line in scoring, two points behind Charle-Edouard D’Astous. Soderstrom had no shortage of flashy plays over the course of Brynas’ season, using deceptive stickhandling and instinctive offense to blow by opponents and set up his teammates. One of his favorite targets was former Anaheim Ducks winger Jakob Silfverberg, who led Brynas in scoring with 47 points in 52 games.

But despite the strong return to Swedish pros, Soderstrom’s tenure in North America is still one to forget. He was originally drafted 11th-overall in the 2019 NHL Draft, but quickly struggled to find a role in the Arizona pipeline. He joined the AHL’s Tuscon Roadrunners in 2020-21 and scored 10 points in 32 games played, good enough to also earn the first four games of his NHL career, where he potted two points. But Soderstrom then ran cold, and didn’t manage any scoring through 16 NHL appearances in the following year. He did bolster his minor-league scoring, though, with 19 points in 32 games – just enough to earn another trip to the NHL in 2022-23. That tenure proved a bit more promising – headlined by nine points in 30 games – but Soderstrom again struggled to make it stick. He completed two more productive seasons in the minors, but closed his trip through North America with a measly 11 points in 53 NHL games, despite 82 points in 170 AHL games.

A move to Boston will mark another potential home for the flashy puck-handler. The Bruins could sorely use a right-shot defender after trading shutdown man Brandon Carlo to the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Deadline. Soderstrom is still only 24-years-old and could reasonably spend a few more years in Sweden before offering Boston his prime years. That will be the upside Boston hopes for, at least – though it’s a shrewd bet at the cost of just a depth prospect and fifth-round pick.

The other focal piece of the move, defender Ryan Mast, played through his rookie year in the AHL this season. He recorded just five points, 19 penalty minutes, and a plus-seven through 37 games with the Providence Bruins – quaint totals after he posted 16 points in 47 ECHL games last year. Mast is 6-foot-5 and plays his best hockey on the defensive side of the puck, where he uses a long and effective reach to force opponents into the corners and away from the puck. Hot scoring won’t be what many fans remember Mast for, but he could find his way into a small NHL role with a few more years of learning to handle pro offenses. He’ll be a low-risk, low-reward addition to a Blackhawks’ pipeline geared firmly on the future.

Pastrňák Earns 2024-25 All-Star Team Honors

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RW David Pastrňák (Bruins) – In another close vote, Pastrňák narrowly bested Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner for the second-best right winger from the 2024-25 campaign. Despite a lackluster year from the Boston Bruins, who finished with the 28th-ranked offense, Pastrňák didn’t notice. The Czech winger scored 43 goals and 106 points in 82 games, and brought up his production over the last three years to 151 goals and 329 points in 246 games.

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Michael DiPietro Generating Interest

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Goaltender Michael DiPietro has had a rocky development road, but got back on track with an AHL All-Star campaign in the Bruins organization in 2024-25. ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports the former high-end prospect is generating interest as he heads toward Group VI unrestricted free agency in a few weeks.

If so, DiPietro might be aiming to land somewhere where there’s a potential opening for him to start the season on the NHL roster as a No. 2 option. Jeff Marek of Daily Faceoff reported in March the Bruins were pursuing a contract extension with him, but considering there’s been no apparent forward progress since then, combined with today’s report, it’s clear he desires more of a shot than he’d have next year in Boston behind Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo.

A third-round pick by the Canucks in 2017 after winning the Memorial Cup with OHL Windsor, his development quickly stalled after turning pro two years later. He never became more than a fringe No. 3 option in Vancouver and lost nearly an entire year of development in the COVID-laced 2020-21 season, sitting on the taxi squad all year aside from four minor-league appearances.

After three NHL appearances and a few years of average minor-league play, the Canucks traded DiPietro to Boston at the beginning of the 2022-23 season in what looked like nothing more than a swap of AHLers at the time. DiPietro didn’t even manage an AHL role in his first year with the Bruins organization, playing just one game with Providence and spending the rest of the year with ECHL Maine, where he looked somewhat rejuvenated with a .918 SV% in 29 appearances.

A restricted free agent the following summer, the Bruins at least saw enough to tender him a qualifying offer. He signed a fresh two-way deal for the 2023-24 campaign, which saw him lock down a full-time AHL role again and replicate his forward momentum. While still Boston’s fourth-stringer behind Linus Ullmark, Swayman, and Brandon Bussi that year, he managed a strong 2.51 GAA, .918 SV%, 18-9-2 record, and four shutouts in 30 AHL appearances.

With an even stronger 2024-25 campaign, DiPietro’s development is finally on a linear track. The 26-year-old was a First Team All-Star and named the AHL’s top goaltender after superceding Bussi as Providence’s starter and posting a 2.05 GAA, .927 SV%, 26-8-7 record, and four shutouts in 40 games of action.

Goalies generally take longer to develop, and DiPietro’s winding road to this point could just be a victim of that cliché. He benefits from a pretty weak group of UFA netminders whose top options are Jake Allen, Anton Forsberg, and James Reimer. There are more than a few serviceable backups out there and even a legitimate 1B option in Allen still, but all of the options are known commodities at this stage. Aside from the veteran Allen, who was quite good in backup duties for New Jersey this season, DiPietro offers the most upside of anyone available for free.

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