As part of NHL.com's 32 in 32 series, the fantasy hockey staff ranks the top five Boston Bruins players for standard leagues and provides skater points and goalie wins projections for the 2026-27 season.
1. David Pastrnak, F
NHL.com fantasy rank: 6
Pastrnak has had at least 100 points in four straight seasons and ranks fifth in the NHL in that category (429 points in 323 games) over that span (since the start of 2022-23) after finishing tied for seventh in points (100 in 77 games) last season. Pastrnak had a career-high 71 assists (sixth in NHL) last season and was tied with Connor McDavid for the most primary assists (57) in the entire League.
Since the start of 2022-23, Pastrnak is tied with Leon Draisaitl for first in the NHL in goals (180), ranking second in shots on goal (1,369) and fourth in primary assists (172). The 30-year-old, who has only missed five games over the past four seasons combined, is a fixture among the top 10 overall of NHL.com’s fantasy rankings.
NHL.com point projection: 102
2. Jeremy Swayman, G
NHL.com fantasy rank: 62
Swayman had a career-high 31 wins (tied for fourth in NHL) last season and ranked highly at his position in even-strength save percentage (.923; tied for second), saves (1,426; fifth) and games played (55; tied for ninth). Among goalies who played at least 20 home games last season, Swayman ranked first in home save percentage (.920), was tied for second in home goals-against average (2.18) and tied for fourth in home wins (19-7-1).
The 27-year-old finished third among goalies in standard fantasy leagues last season (582.0 fantasy points; behind Logan Thompson’s 623.8, Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 619.6) and is ranked inside the top 10 fantasy hockey goalie rankings this season.
NHL.com win projection: 33
NHL.com fantasy rank: 111
Geekie had NHL career highs in points (68 in 81 games), goals (39), assists (29), power-play goals (12), power-play points (24), shots on goal (181) and average ice time (17:24 per game) last season. Over the past two seasons combined, Geekie leads the Bruins in even-strength goals (56; tied for 10th in NHL) and is tied with Pastrnak in goals (72; tied for 15th in League).
Geekie, who has 89 goals in three seasons with the Bruins (compared to 22 goals in four combined seasons with Carolina Hurricanes, Seattle Kraken), was tied for sixth in the entire NHL last season in slap shot goals (seven) and tied for third in tipped goals (seven). Geekie is a perennial fantasy draft bargain who could be attainable around the top 100 overall.
NHL.com point projection: 69
4. Charlie McAvoy, D
NHL.com fantasy rank: 133
McAvoy set NHL career highs in points (61 in 69 games; 10th among defensemen), assists (50; tied for ninth) and power-play points (23; 11th) last season. McAvoy was one of four defensemen to have at least 60 points, 100 shots on goal (111) and 100 blocked shots (129) last season (others: Moritz Seider, Miro Heiskanen, Lane Hutson). The Bruins defenseman, who scored 11 goals last season, has had at least seven goals in five straight seasons and seven of his nine seasons in the NHL.
McAvoy, who has a higher ceiling in fantasy leagues with blocked shots (at least 129 in five of past seven seasons), should be considered a fringe top 20 fantasy defenseman option.
NHL.com point projection: 65
NHL.com fantasy rank: 138
Zacha had a breakout season in 2025-26; he set NHL career highs in points (65 in 78 games), goals (30), power-play goals (11) and power-play points (22), despite averaging 16:51 per game (compared to 19:04 in 2024-25). Zacha, who has never had 150 shots on goal in an NHL season, had a career-high shooting percentage of 22.9 percent last season (highest mark in entire League among 45 players who scored at least 30 goals).
Zacha could have a role on the first line and power play with Pastrnak and JJ Peterka (acquired from Utah Mammoth this offseason), making Zacha a worthy late-round fantasy target.
NHL.com point projection: 65
Other BOS players on preseason fantasy draft lists:
Bounce-back candidate: JJ Peterka, F (point projection: 60)
Breakout candidate: Fraser Minten, F (point projection: 42)
Draft bargain: Elias Lindholm, F (point projection: 55)
Deep sleeper: Casey Mittelstadt, F (point projection: 45)
Rookie to watch: James Hagens, F (point projection: 41)
Blocks and hits specialist: Nikita Zadorov, D
Fantasy Draft HQ: Early rankings for 2026-27
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