Don Sweeney Explains Bruins’ Blue Line Decisions

Jokiharju signed a three-year contract worth $9 million ($3 million AAV) on June 30, 2025, and he is one of three Bruins’ right-shot defensemen under contract next season, along with Charlie McAvoy and Billy Sweezey.

He was okay with the season he had, achieving his goals, but knows that there was room for more.

“Ups and downs and great experience. Olympic medal. Got a couple [of] games in the playoffs,” Jokiharju said on breakup day. “So if I think about the start of the year, definitely was the goal being in the Olympics and in the playoffs, so a few of those things are kind of good, but I think it could be lots better.”

LOHREI

Mason Lohrei played in 73 games during the regular season, the third-most among Bruins defensemen, but he watched the last three playoff games from the press box in Boston and Buffalo.

Lohrei said that it was a “behind closed doors” decision. Don Sweeney said that he “lost his confidence a little bit in the playoffs.”

In November, Marco Sturm scratched him and said that “he should be pissed.” The message was received, and once he returned, Lohrei played in 57 straight games before suffering an upper-body injury. He found success on the right side, his opposite hand, playing alongside Hampus Lindholm.

Sweeney praised that move, saying Lohrei is showing “a lot of what he’s capable of doing.”

Lohrei rebounded this season. Last year, he finished with the league’s lowest plus/minus rating, coming in at minus-43. This year, he finished with a plus-17, good for a 60-goal swing.

“You look year over year in terms of where he was defensively last year in our lineup versus what he was able to accomplish this year while, albeit still doing some of the things offensively that we all really like,” Sweeney said. “I think he can continue to shoot more, shoot quicker, quicker execution. It’s just a continued development that he has to adhere to at times.”

At 25, he is the youngest defenseman on the Bruins’ blue line. The Bruins signed him to a two-year extension before this season; he makes $3.2 million per year for one more season. Sweeney does not think his development is stunted, and noted he is still a young player at the position.

“I always try to get faster, quicker, you know, foot speed, and that’s a big one, just skating and getting quicker,” Lohrei said about his focus for the summer. “And then continue to get stronger and fill out my frame.”

“But [Sturm] doesn’t dislike Mason the same way that he doesn’t dislike Henri. It’s just night to night, he’s trying to put the best lineup together,” said Sweeney.

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