Last season: 33-39-10, missed playoffs.
COACH: Marco Sturm, hired June 5. First-time NHL coach.
SEASON OPENER: Oct. 8 at Washington.
DEPARTURES: Coach Joe Sacco, F Vinny Lettieri, D Ian Mitchell, D Parker Wotherspoon.
ADDITIONS: F Viktor Arvidsson, F Matej Blumel, D Jordan Harris, F Tanner Jeannot, F Michael Eyissimont, F Sean Kuraly.
GOALIES: Jeremy Swayman (22-29-7, 3.11 goals-against average, .892 save percentage), Jonas Korpisalo (11-10-3, 2.90, .893).
BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 200-1.
The Bruins bailed on coach Jim Montgomery after 20 games last season and didn’t improve under interim Joe Sacco, having a fire sale at the trade deadline in which they jettisoned captain Brad Marchand, forwards Justin Brazeau Charlie Coyle, Marc McLaughlin and Trent Frederic along with defenseman Brandon Carlo. They finished with 76 points, last in the Eastern Conference and tied for the fourth-worst record in the NHL. This season will be a transition and then some.
The good: Swayman never really found his groove last season after holding out in training camp and signing an eight-year, $66 million contract two days before the opener. If he can post anything resembling his 2022-23 season, when he went 24-6-4 with a 2.27 GAA, the Bruins might be able to eke into the playoffs.
The not-so-good: The forward lineup for this season looks weak beyond David Pastrnak. The defense could be better with the healthy return of Charlie McAvoy and Hampus Lindholm, but depth beyond that is thin.
Blumel and Alex Steeves were the top two goal-scorers in the AHL last season. Swayman needs to bounce back from his off season. Will the team play without a captain after trading Marchand last season? If not, the elder statesman is Pastrnak, who may not fit the mold, with McAvoy emerging as the veteran with the most sway in the room.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
FILE - Boston Bruins new head coach Marco Sturm smiles as he speaks during an NHL hockey news conference, Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Mary Schwalm, File)
FILE - Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak (88) watches during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, N.C., Thursday, March 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker, File)
BEIJING (AP) — Breaking with the United States, Canada has agreed to cut its 100% tariff on Chinese electric cars in return for lower tariffs on Canadian farm products, Prime Minister Mark Carney said Friday.
Carney made the announcement after two days of meetings with Chinese leaders. He said there would be an initial cap of 49,000 vehicles on Chinese EV exports to Canada, growing to 70,000 over five years. China will reduce its tariff on canola seeds, a major Canadian export, from about 84% to about 15%, he told reporters.
“It has been a historic and productive two days,” Carney said, speaking outside against the backdrop of a traditional pavilion and a frozen pond at a Beijing park. “We have to understand the differences between Canada and other countries, and focus our efforts to work together where we’re aligned.”
Earlier Friday, he and Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged to improve relations between their two nations after years of acrimony.
Xi told Carney in a meeting at the Great Hall of the People that he is willing to continue working to improve ties, noting that talks have been underway on restoring and restarting cooperation since the two held an initial meeting in October on the sidelines of a regional economic conference in South Korea.
“It can be said that our meeting last year opened a new chapter in turning China–Canada relations toward improvement,” China's top leader said.
Carney, the first Canadian prime minister to visit China in eight years, said better relations would help improve a global governance system that he described as “under great strain.”
He called for a new relationship “adapted to new global realities” and cooperation in agriculture, energy and finance.
Those new realities reflect in large part the so-called America-first approach of U.S. President Donald Trump. The tariffs he has imposed have hit both the Canadian and Chinese economies. Carney, who has met with several leading Chinese companies in Beijing, said ahead of his trip that his government is focused on building an economy less reliant on the U.S. at what he called “a time of global trade disruption.”
A Canadian business owner in China called Carney's visit game-changing, saying it re-establishes dialogue, respect and a framework between the two nations.
“These three things we didn’t have,” said Jacob Cooke, the CEO of WPIC Marketing + Technologies, which helps exporters navigate the Chinese market. “The parties were not talking for years.”
Canada had followed the U.S. in putting tariffs of 100% on EVs from China and 25% on steel and aluminum under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Carney’s predecessor.
China responded by imposing duties of 100% on Canadian canola oil and meal and 25% on pork and seafood. It added a 75.8% tariff on canola seeds last August. Collectively, the import taxes effectively closed the Chinese market to Canadian canola, an industry group has said. Overall, China's imports from Canada fell 10.4% last year to $41.7 billion, according to Chinese trade data.
China is hoping Trump’s pressure tactics on allies such as Canada will drive them to pursue a foreign policy that is less aligned with the United States. The U.S. president has suggested Canada could become America's 51st state.
Carney departs China on Saturday and visits Qatar on Sunday before attending the annual gathering of the World Economic Forum in Switzerland next week. He will meet business leaders and investors in Qatar to promote trade and investment, his office said.
Associated Press business writer Chan Ho-him in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaks to the media at Ritan Park in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, leaves after speaking to the media at Ritan Park in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Chinese President Xi Jinping, centre, reacts during a meeting with Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney (not in the picture), at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, speaks to the media at Ritan Park in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, center, arrives to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, China, Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, Pool)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, meets with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada's Prime Minister Mark Carney, left, shakes hands with China's President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing Friday, Jan. 16, 2026. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press via AP)
