The Boston Bruins’ eerily quiet offseason has fans noticeably worried about the club’s apparent lack of willingness to compete this upcoming season.
But beyond the possibility of tanking for Gavin McKenna, the Bruins want to keep plenty of dry powder to pursue the big names in the 2026 NHL free agent class. Most notably, Jack Eichel.
Eichel is entering the final year of his current contract eight-year, $80 million with the Vegas Golden Knights. Thus far, Eichel has not signaled he’s staying or leaving. He’ll simply play out the final year of his current contract and see what happens.
Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins aren’t going all-in this summer. The club will bide its time to pursue Eichel, among other big-name free agents, next summer.
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, in his latest edition of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, made it clear that the Bruins are looking to avoid committing to any free agents this summer as next summer’s crop looks much more bountiful.
In addition to Eichel, Kirill Kaprizov and Artemi Panarin will hit the 2026 free agent market. Either one of Eichel, Kaprizov, and Panarin could transform the Bruins moving forward.
However, it’s Eichel that makes the most sense for the Bruins. The team already has an elite winger in David Pastrnak. Both Panarin and Kaprizov are elite wingers. While stellar additions, they don’t solve the Bruins’ biggest need at the moment: A number-one center.
Yes, Connor McDavid is on track to hit free agency next summer. And he would be just what the doctor ordered. But no one realistically expects McDavid to hit the market.
So, Eichel would be the best-available free-agent center next summer, making him the Bruins’ prime target.
Could a Bruins-Golden Knights Trade Be in the Cards?
Friedman made another interesting comment regarding the Bruins’ plans. Friedman noted that Boston would be willing to trade for a big-ticket free agent the team could re-sign before the offseason.
If that’s accurate, it could mean that the Bruins might work out a trade involving Eichel at or before next season’s trade deadline.
It’s tough to imagine that happening as the Golden Knights would be looking to make a strong playoff run next season. That means the most logical moment for the Bruins to trade for Eichel would be once the Golden Knights’ playoff run is over, whenever that happens.
The B’s could trade for Eichel much the same way the Golden Knights traded for Mitch Marner this summer. Doing so would give the Bruins exclusive rights to Eichel ahead of the July 1 opening of free agency.
Boston Has Limited Options Beyond Eichel
The Bruins face a very thin free agent market at center. Beyond Eichel, names like Mikael Backlund, JG Pageau, Alex Wennberg, and former Bruin Charlie Coyle stand out as options. While all are fine depth options, none of them fill the top-line center void the team currently has.
Unless Pavel Zacha or Elias Lindholm emerge as legit top-line centers this upcoming season, the Bruins will need to push for Eichel. Missing out on Eichel would mean forcing the Bruins to look for a top-line center on the trade market.
That may not be a reasonable option. That’s why it seems like next season will be Eichel or bust for the B’s unless Eichel decides to re-sign in Vegas.
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