Sweeney, Sturm Preview the 2026-27 Bruins Season

BOSTON –– Marco Sturm sat in front of the media at TD Garden on Wednesday and quickly summarized how he feels about the 2026-27 season.

“I am pumped,” the head coach said.

​The Boston Bruins’ training camp has its first on-ice session on Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena, and before the action gets started, Sturm and general manager Don Sweeney previewed the upcoming year.

​With the new Collective Bargaining Agreement in effect, training camp will be shortened to have four games, and the regular season will expand to 84 games. That means the B’s and all other NHL clubs will have around a week less of preparation ahead of opening night. Sturm is prepared to adapt on the fly.

“It’s actually going to be interesting to see how it’s going to work out. We all have something in mind that we would like to do. I don’t know if it’s going to happen that way,” Sturm said. “It is going to be a little bit challenging, too, having the last two games as a back-to-back on the road. So there’s a lot of things we have to see, and also we have to figure out through camp.”

Sweeney echoed the same sentiment and added that all the Bruins are healthy and will be on the ice.

“Typically, depending on when you open, the players would like to play in the last game, or Marco would like to see them in the last game and work backwards from there,” Sweeney said. “We will work through the roster side of things and maximize every opportunity we can to evaluate, and more importantly, get guys ready to go.”

Here are three other main points from Wednesday’s press conference:

The Captaincy Question

​Sweeney did not mince words about the state of the Bruins’ leadership group.​

“We are going to announce a captain this year,” he said. “We will do that before opening night. So nobody has to ask who it is or whatnot. We’ve spent a lot of time; we understand the legacy of our organization and we want to do it the right way. We’ve made it perfectly clear that we’ll be announcing that before the season starts.”

Charlie McAvoy, David Pastrnak and Hampus Lindholm were the team’s three alternate captains during the 2025-26 season – Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov occasionally wore the ‘A,’ too. Leading by committee has always been a core piece of the Bruins’ identity, and that won’t change, even with a designated captain.

“We took our time. We allowed the leadership group last year – we know who is at the forefront of that leadership group,” Sweeney said. “We’ve been talking about this for a while. We know exactly what we are going to do. But last year was a good example of allowing players who are going to be required in that leadership role to organically step forward. We are in a good place.”

Hagens Heads into Camp with Confidence

James Hagens took full advantage of Rookie Camp and the Prospects Showcase last week. The 19-year-old forward – who was the Bruins’ seventh overall pick at the 2025 Draft – scored six goals through two games in Buffalo against the Sabres’ prospects.

“I was so happy. I’m glad he played in that tournament. I’ve seen in the past with some other guys that I had – it’s a great opportunity to shine, and he did. It gives him a little bit of a head start. I think he feels pretty good today. I saw him around; he was smiling. That means he is going to be ready for tomorrow. That’s all I’m looking for,” Sturm said. “He’s just got to be James Hagens.”  

​The former Boston College Eagle will be battling for a roster spot in his first NHL training camp. Hagens played two regular-season games to finish out the year for the B’s before skating in three playoff matchups. This year, Hagens wants to make a consistent impact.

“He has put a lot of work in this summer. Spent a lot of time here in Boston. Went out [to the Prospects Showcase] and played with a lot of confidence,” Sweeney said. “Hopefully he carries that forward into day one of tomorrow and through the exhibition season. And then it’s up to the coaches to evaluate how impactful James is going to be for our club now or down the road.”

Poitras Remains in Boston

Matt Poitras is officially back. The 22-year-old forward and the Bruins agreed to a one-year, two-way contract extension with an NHL cap hit of $850,000 on Wednesday.

Poitras has appeared in 69 career NHL games – including three with the B’s during the 2025-26 season. The 2022 second-round pick has tallied a cumulative 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) while up with the main club. Poitras had 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) in 69 games in the AHL with Providence last season.

​Poitras was called up to Boston at the end of January and scored in the Bruins’ Stadium Series matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“I feel like it was a big improvement. Every individual and every player is different. Some guys need a little bit longer than others, and we felt like after training camp, he did a good job, but he was not ready,” Sturm said. “He needed time in the minors, and these guys down there, they did a good job working with him. And when he got the call, he played some excellent games.”

Sturm expects Poitras to be at the pivot positions when on-ice sessions begin on Thursday.

“A few reasons I always like him better in the middle, even like a year ago, I always said right from the start,” Sturm said. “Can he play on the wing? Yes, he can. But I think he’s just one of those guys who is better in the middle. If you look at our roster right now or our players, we are pretty stacked, I would say, on the wing, too.”