Happy Friday, folks!
We’ve reached mid-July, arguably the least interesting point on the hockey calendar. Still, there’s always something going on, whether major or minor.
Apologies for the quiet few days here on the site, as I was away for a bit. We’ll probably start some offseason content within the next week or two.
Until then, stay cool.
Bruins release 2026-2027 schedule
The B’s released next season’s schedule earlier this week, putting together a release video starring Nikita Zadorov, Jeremy Swayman, Charlie McAvoy, and several other familiar faces.
Oscar-caliber acting across the board, that’s for sure.
The Bruins will open their season at home on September 29, hosting the New York Rangers in an ESPN broadcast.
After that, the B’s will have two days off before playing back-to-backs in Winnipeg and Minnesota, which is certainly a choice from the league scheduling team.
The other main date to note: Patrice Bergeron’s number retirement ceremony will be held on December 1, prior to a game against the Colorado Avalanche.
In a weird twist, the Bruins will play a strange, Atlantic-heavy schedule in April: the B’s have six games that month, five of which are on the road. They’ll play Buffalo and Tampa twice in that span.
As a reminder, the NHL will play an 84-game schedule this season.
Operations changes made
In somewhat minor news, the Bruins confirmed a series of changes to the front office on Tuesday.
Those changes include:
- The departure of Assistant GM Evan Gold, who will be pursuing “other opportunities in the National Hockey League”
- Kevyn Adams was named Senior Advisor to the GM
- Dennis Bonvie was named Assistant GM – Player Personnel
- Jeremy Rogalski got promoted to Assistant GM – Analytics and Strategy (he previously served as Director of Hockey Analytics)
- Alex Gimenez was named Director of Hockey Operations, Collective Bargaining Agreement
While most of these changes will have minor impacts for the average fan, they collectively represent a pretty decent shake-up to the Bruins’ management team.
Gold’s departure isn’t a shock after he was reportedly a finalist for the Vancouver Canucks GM role, but there are also reports that he may be landing in Toronto in an AGM role.
That would seem to be a bit of a lateral move, but who knows?
Donato joins the Devils
In another minor coaching move with local implications, former Boston Bruin and longtime Harvard head coach Ted Donato will be joining the New Jersey Devils as an assistant coach.
Donato will join Sheldon Keefe’s staff as Keefe gets a chance to right the ship after a disastrous season in New Jersey.
Donato announced that he was leaving Harvard after more than two decades in May, so it’s nice to see that he was making that move with an NHL gig in his sights.
In more Bruins-related news, The Athletic released its list of the most (and least) improved teams thus far in the offseason — if you don’t have a subscription, the Bruins landed in the middle of the pack with a minus-2 “Net Rating added.”
For context, the top team on the list was the Nashville Predators at +27, while the bottom was the Buffalo Sabres at -15.
Basically, the model sees the Bruins as being the same quality of team as last season, which pretty much tracks with what most here are saying.
What else is on tap for today?
