How Far Away are the Bruins from the Stanley Cup

Apr 6, 2024; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) makes a save in front of Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk (19) during the second period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL Season has officially ended after the Florida Panthers defeated the Edmonton Oilers in 7 games to win the Stanley Cup. The Panthers defeated the Bruins in 6 games in the semifinals exposing some of the holes the team head offensively. It also shows the Bruins aren’t that far away as free agency begins

There are plenty of things to look forward to in 2024-25 for the Bruins. They have one of the best goal scorers in the NHL in David Pastrnak. One of the better defensemen in the league in Charlie McAvoy and will soon come to an agreement with goaltender Jeremy Swayman after trading Linus Ullmark to Ottowa. They still have future hall of famer Brad Marchand and young players in Mason Lohrei and Matthew Poitras who showed promise last season.

The team has 23 million dollars in salary cap space before a Swayman deal. They just added a first round pick which they absolutely needed along with a bottom-six center in Matt Kastelic in the Ullmark deal. The number one priority will be upgraded offensively this year. Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle did a nice job replacing the production of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci a year ago. The Bruins scored 3.21 goals per game in the regular season but dropped to just 2.38 goals per game in the playoffs per Nick Goss who joined us last night. The B's scored more than two goals in only four of their 13 postseason games. They failed to score three or more goals in each of their last five second-round games versus the Panthers.

They’ll have decisions to make on Jake Debrusk and could bring back Danton Heinen. But they need to hit on the likes of Elias Lindholm, Sam Reinhart, Chandler Stephenson, Steven Stamkos or Anthony Mantha. Let’s see what Don Sweeney can cook up this off-season with money to spend. They aren’t that far away.

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Joe Murray has worked behind the scenes and on-air in New England since 2007. Murray was born and raised in Boston (Hyde Park) and is now living on the North Shore in Peabody. A graduate of CSB School of Broadcasting, Joe was hired at 98.5 The Sports Hub in 2011 and is the host of Patriots Postgame and the Over/Under Podcast with Dan Lifshatz. Joe was hired as the full-time night show host in 2023, and a featured guest for “The Weekly Spread” on NBC Sports Boston during football season. Joe writes about all New England sports from Patriots football to Boston Celtics and Boston Bruins.