The Boston Bruins are just about ready to get the 2026-27 NHL season underway.
When they take to the ice, they'll be doing so without one of their veteran defensemen from a year ago: Henri Jokiharju .
The Bruins made the tough decision as they trimmed their roster to place Jokiharju on waivers.
Most players who are waived before the season begins were clearly never going to start the year in the NHL.
Jokiharju had a legitimate chance, in part because of his experience and in part because he's entering the second season of a three-year, $9 million contract.
Neither of those things were enough to convince the Bruins to keep him around, though.
The Bruins waived Jokiharju because they didn't see him fitting into their regular lineup for the season ahead.
"He wasn't really a fit under Marco Sturm, suiting up in only 41 games for Boston in 2025-26 and becoming a regular healthy scratch at times," The Athletic wrote after Jokiharju was placed on waivers . "Boston's acquisitions of Will Borgen and Connor Clifton beefed up the team's right-side blue line depth, making Jokiharju expendable."
Jokiharju did have an active 2025-26 hockey calendar overall, suiting up when the opportunity presented itself for his nation of Finland.
With the Bruins, though, he had just two goals and 13 assists (15 points) in 41 games played.
Since Boston's defensive depth got better, not worse, this offseason, it was always going to be tough for Jokiharju to have a consistent role.
It's still a bit surprising to see him waived, though.
"Jokiharju is an interesting player," The Athletic wrote. "He's proven he's NHL-caliber, with almost 500 games of experience, and has never averaged below 17:30 per game in a season, meaning he can handle a greater workload than your typical No. 6/7 defenseman. Jokiharju has a decent first pass, and his underlying metrics are respectable — he had a positive impact on the Bruins' ability to control shots and expected goals, and the club had a plus-four goal differential during his five-on-five shifts last season. That's notable because his minutes and matchups weren't excessively sheltered."
Jokiharju could end up with another team before opening night via the waiver process.
The problem is that his contract might not be ideal if he's only a borderline NHL player in the eyes of most teams.
"Jokiharju can capably munch 17-18 minutes per game on the right side with respectable results, but be prepared for some highs and lows and don't expect it to look pretty stylistically," The Athletic writes. "If he were on a cheap contract, he'd be a no-brainer claim for a team given his handedness and experience, but at a $3 million cap hit, teams will have to think twice."
If Jokiharju isn't claimed, he could still end up back in Boston at some point later this season. He's not the worst depth option to have around, although at his cost, the Bruins likely would've hoped for a slightly better outcome than having to waive him before his second season in town.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
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