Bruins face roster decisions with seven key players as offseason begins

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Bruins face roster decisions with seven key players as offseason begins

Matt Vautour · MassLive

Sun, May 3, 2026 ·

4 min read

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After Friday night’s loss to the Sabres, the Bruins closed the book on the 2025-26 season. As is always the case, the time to reflect is limited. The Bruins will have some important decisions to make for the 2026-27 roster.

Here are seven Bruins players whose futures are uncertain:

NHL free agents

Viktor Arvidsson — Arvidsson had a terrific first season in Boston with 25 goals and 29 assists, boosting the Bruins’ second line throughout the season.

He’s a favorite of coach Marco Sturm, who affectionately called Arvidsson a weasel. He’ll likely draw interest in free agency and could be overpaid given the limited free agents out there. If the Bruins would like to keep him, getting him signed before July 1 is a good idea.

Andrew Peeke — Right-shot defensemen are hard to come by and the Bruins have a shortage of them. But he’s struggled in the postseason. There’s a good chance they’ll gamble hoping they can find a better option.

The goalie question

Joonas Korpisalo has two years left on his contract at $4 million AAV. With the salary cap rising, that contract isn’t as oppressive as it was once perceived to be

The Finnish Olympian, who turned 32 on Tuesday, had a strong finish to the year in a league lacking in capable goalies. There’s likely a market out there for him if the Bruins are interested in trading him, especially if they keep some of his salary. He has a 10-team no-trade clause.

But dealing him means turning about 30 games or so over to unproven Michael DiPietro next year.

DiPietro was outstanding this year in Providence. He was the AHL’s top goalie and MVP with a 34-8-1 record with a .930 save percentage and a 1.91 goals against average.

There are questions about DiPietro. The biggest of those is his size. In an NHL that prefers big netminders, DiPietro looks especially small at 6-feet. DiPietro would have to pass through waivers to get back to Providence for another year next. Somebody is likely to claim him.

If the Bruins don’t trade Korpisalo, is there a taker for DiPietro?

It seems likely they’ll deal a goalie. But which one?

Is there a deal out there?

Mikey Eyssimont — Eyssimont has been the odd man out for Boston in the second half of the season. The Bruins pictured their free-agent signing as an agitator who provide occasional secondary scoring.

His 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 56 games actually marked the best points per game total of his career. But most of his production came early. Six of his goals and eight assists came before New Year’s.

He lost Sturm’s confidence down the stretch. He had just one assist after the Olympic break. More notably he played just 12 of the last 25 games, including the last two where Sturm used him in place of resting regulars.

Lukas Reichel got into the playoff lineup ahead of him.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Boston move him for minimal return if someone wants to give him a fresh start.

Henri Jokiharju — The Bruins have Jokiharju on the books for two more seasons at $3 million AAV. There was hope that he’d grow into a larger role when the Bruins traded for him and extended him.

But Jonathan Aspirot raced past Jokiharju on the Bruins depth chart and in Sturm’s circle of trust. Jokiharju played just eight of the 25 games after the Olympics. Jordan Harris cracked Boston’s lineup in the playoffs before Jokiharju eventually did.

He’s certainly a candidate to be traded if there’s interest. The Bruins would likely consider buying him out if the $2 million in cap space would help them acquire help elsewhere.

Alex Steeves — Alex Steeves had a great December with five goals and two assists, numbers that likely helped earn him two more years at $1.625 million AAV, an extension he signed on January 21. He had just one goal and one assist for the remainder of the season and found himself buried on the bench after the Olympics. He played the last two postseason games against the Sabres, but didn’t register a point.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see the Bruins give him a longer leash in training camp next year to see if he might regain his offensive game.

NHL free agents

The goalie question

Is there a deal out there?

More Bruins content