McAvoy Unloads; 3 Things We Learned During Bruins Locker Clean Out Day

BRIGHTON, Mass. — The Boston Bruins officially closed the doors on the 2024-25 season, holding their final media availabilities on Thursday at Warrior Ice Arena. 

As the players bid farewell for the summer, a few left some parting thoughts on the season that was, and on what the future holds for both the team and themselves. 

Here are three things we learned as the Bruins cleaned out their lockers.

Korpisalo Unsatisfied with Amount of Playing Time: 

This season was Joonas Korpisalo’s first with the Bruins. 

Having spent most of his career as a starter, the goaltender heads into the offseason unsatisfied after appearing in only 27 games while serving as the backup in Boston.

“I don’t think there’s any goalie in the league who is really comfortable playing 20-25 games,” Korpisalo said. “I’m going to push for more games, for sure, and we’ll see what happens.” 

There was little chance that Korpisalo would see significant time in net with the Bruins after the team reached an eight-year contract extension with Jeremy Swayman just before the start of the season. 

But once the season began, it was clear who came ready to play. 

While Swayman struggled out of the gate and through most of the year, Korpisalo remained rock steady in his limited chances. 

The Bruins finished with a record 11-10-3 across his 24 starts while he posted a 2.90 goals-against average, with a -1.7 goals saved above expected, and a .890 save percentage. Those numbers aren’t fantastic, but they’re drastically better than those that Swayman put up in more than double the amount of appearances. 

“I was pretty open-minded when I got into the season,” said Korpisalo. “You always try to put everything you have out there and make your mark to gain some playing time. You just do what’s best for you every day, and try your best to work hard, so that you might earn some more playing time. But sometimes it’s not up to me.”

Korpisalo did not directly take issue with Swayman. The two worked well together all year and have a strong relationship off the ice.

 It may just be the case that the crease isn’t big enough for both of them. 

Severity of Injuries Revealed: 

Injuries ravaged the Bruins all season long, and it became clear on Wednesday just how severe some of them were. 

Before ever putting on a black and gold jersey, Elias Lindholm suffered a lower back injury that slowed him down to start the year. 

As for injuries that occurred during the season, Hampus Lindholm missed 65 games after breaking his kneecap while blocking a shot in mid-November. He tried everything he could to make a return, but ended up pushing a little too hard during his rehab and was ultimately shut down for the rest of the season back in February. 

Mark Kastelic sat out Boston’s final 12 games while dealing with the lingering symptoms of a concussion he had suffered earlier on.  

In addition to pressure in his head and light headaches that made it difficult for him to play, Kastelic had to cope with how the symptoms affected him mentally. 

“I’ve been really hard on just trying to tell myself I’m okay, but being honest with myself, it was kind of just a hard kind of conversation I had to have with my inner thoughts,” Kastelic said. “I think it was for the best, though, long term, because I want to have a long, healthy career. I’m confident I’ll do that, and I think that was necessary.” 

Charlie McAvoy shares in the experience of how a physical injury can take a mental toll. A shoulder injury he suffered during the 4 Nations Face-Off that quickly developed an infection and landed him in the hospital, taking away more than just the last two months of his season.

“Mentally, emotionally, physically, I’ve gone through so much because of that damn experience,” said McAvoy. “It cost me my season. It cost me my sanity in a lot of ways. None of this has been easy, and I get emotional talking about it.”

Khusnutdinov Already Buying In: 

Marat Khusnutdinov may have only arrived in Boston a little over a month ago, but he knows it’s where he wants to be. The pending restricted free agent is ready to sign a contract extension with the Bruins. 

“It’s perfect,” Khusnutdinov said. “The guys helped me. Our coaches helped me. It feels great here.” 

The young Russian forward was made especially comfortable by his fellow countryman Nikita Zadorov. 

Khusnutdinov is one of six RFAs the Bruins have this offseason, along with Morgan Geekie, John Beecher, Jakub Lauko, Mason Lohrei, and Ian Mitchell. 

FOLLOW ANDREW FANTUCCHIO ON 𝕏: @A_FANTUCCHIO

FOLLOW BOSTON HOCKEY NOW ON 𝕏 AND FACEBOOK