The Boston Bruins got a taste. Now they want more.
After Marco Sturm’s head coaching debut ended with a return to the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, the Bruins are eager to begin the 2026-27 season with a Tuesday night visit from the New York Rangers.
“I think (that experience is) a good thing. The message (to start training camp) was that we want to build on that,” said Sturm, whose team suffered a first-round playoff exit against the Buffalo Sabres following a 100-point regular season. “We want to have that taste again. … We want more. But we’ve got to earn it.”
Boston’s lineup returns star David Pastrnak following his fourth consecutive 100-point campaign, while Morgan Geekie netted a team-high 39 goals. The duo welcomes Sturm’s German countryman JJ Peterka, who has scored 25 goals in three straight seasons, most recently with the Utah Mammoth.
The new season now carries more weight for Pastrnak, who was officially named the Bruins’ 28th captain Sunday. The announcement was long-awaited after Boston went without a ‘C’ since Brad Marchand was traded to the Florida Panthers in March 2025.
“It’s not a competition (with defenseman Charlie McAvoy),” Pastrnak said of the other front-runner for the captaincy. “We’re going to lead this team together.”
The Bruins will be without McAvoy for six games as he serves a suspension for slashing Buffalo’s Zach Benson during April’s playoff series. McAvoy is healthy after multiple injury stints last season, having topped 20 minutes in two preseason games.
That time could provide an opportunity for a young player like 23-year-old Frederic Brunet, who was often McAvoy’s partner in camp. After making his NHL debut in April, 19-year-old forward James Hagens is also poised to contribute and is slated to have 22-year-old Fraser Minten — newly signed to a seven-year deal — as his center to start the year.
“We need guys to be pushing like I did (as a rookie alongside Zdeno Chara),” McAvoy said. “That’s … the mark of a really good team.”
The final line of defense is reigning Vezina Trophy finalist Jeremy Swayman, with Michael DiPietro backing him up. Former Boston backup Joonas Korpisalo was traded to the Rangers in July to form a tandem with returning workhorse Igor Shesterkin.
The Rangers start anew after finishing last in the Eastern Conference and missing the playoffs for the second straight season in 2025-26.
As a result, they have put the “new” in New York with numerous acquisitions, including two proven scorers, Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand, to flank captain J.T. Miller on the second line. Dorofeyev produced back-to-back 30-goal seasons before scoring 12 goals for the Vegas Golden Knights in last year’s playoffs.
“They’re fun to play with,” Miller said. “I try to get pucks back for them and stay out of their way.”
The new look does not stop there. In July trades, Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson were added to the blue line, where this year’s No. 5 overall pick, Alberts Smits, will debut as an 18-year-old.
“A lot of change … but with that comes a little bit of excitement to see what it brings,” defenseman Adam Fox said of the feel in the dressing room. “I think camp’s been good. When you have the long offseason that we had, I think you start itching to get back.”
On the first line, Mika Zibanejad will be flanked by Alexis Lafreniere and Hagens’ former Boston College teammate Gabe Perreault.
Despite significant turnover and a shortened preseason to accommodate two additional regular-season games, coach Mike Sullivan feels his team is in a positive place heading into his native state for the opener.
“We’ve made a lot of progress in the short time we’ve been together,” he said. “I think the energy around the team is really positive and enthusiastic, and we’ve got to continue to keep that energy through some of the challenges that this league presents.”