The two big moves for the Bruins were signing center Elias Lindholm to a seven-year, $54 million contract and defenseman Nikita Zadorov to a six-year, $30 million contract.
In terms of overall need, you could make a compelling, reasonable argument that the Bruins addressed the positions they needed to address.
They need more help at center if they are going to be a legitimate championship contender.
As good as their overall goals-against numbers were in 2023-24, that number was mostly driven by their outstanding goaltending that masked a lot of defensive shortcomings and a lack of quality depth at the position.
So, in that sense, they did address key needs.
But did they address them in the smartest way?
Even though Lindholm is a good player, they are still lacking the type of game-changing, bona fide top-line center that every Stanley Cup-winning team has to have. There is little to differentiate him from returning centers Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha, who are also good players but not game-changers.
Even worse, they signed him for seven years and $54 million. He is already 30 years old, has probably already played his best hockey, and that is a significant cap investment in a good but not great player.
Zadorov is coming off a great playoff run for the Canucks, which is the type of thing that made him a dangerous free agent to sign. Recency bias, combined with his size and physical play, was always going to make him an overpay candidate on the open market. It was just a matter of which team was going to do it. The Bruins ended up being that team.
They addressed their needs, but I am not sure they are better than they were.
Signing non-stars in free agency to six- or seven-year contracts typically ends badly for the team handing out those contracts.
