Boston Bruins defenseman Mason Lohrei has made an interesting admission about his playing time during the recent playoffs. The blueliner featured in 73 total regular-season games for the Bruins during the 2025-26 campaign. He also averaged nearly 17 minutes of ice time per matchup. Nevertheless, head coach Marco Sturm opted to take Lohrei out of his lineup during the postseason.
The former second-round pick initially played the first three games in Boston’s matchup with the Buffalo Sabres. He was, however, sent to the press box for the team’s remaining three matchups. It is safe to say that the decision did not sit well with Lohrei. “Obviously you’re pretty pissed off with that,” the defenseman told the Boston Globe. “I don’t know, you go into the beginning of the summer, and it’s still fresh, so it sucks.”
Despite the frustrations, Lohrei claims that he is using the benching as motivation heading towards the new Boston Bruins season. “Eventually in the summer, I try and just flush everything,” continued the star. “I love to be on the ice in the summer. I love to be in the gym and just trying to better myself.”
“And it doesn’t matter what happened the year before, whether it was the best year of your career or not great, or what happened the last three games. Just try and have fun doing what I love and just trying to improve myself.”
Boston Bruins Likely Leaning Towards Trading Mason Lohrei
GettyMason Lohrei was previously considered a top Boston Bruins prospect in 2023.
Lohrei may be willing to move past the benching, but the Boston Bruins could just be ready to move on from the defenseman. The blueliner previously averaged over 19 minutes per game during the 2024-25 season. This, however, did come during a time in which the Bruins were dealing with several key injuries. Nevertheless, the defenseman’s playing time dipped significantly during the most recent campaign.
Lohrei’s minutes against the Sabres in the playoffs also dropped. In fact, he averaged just over 11 minutes on the ice in Boston’s 4-2 victory on April 21. Along with his diminished role, the defenseman is also set to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2027. He previously signed a two-year, $6.4 million ($3.2 million AAV) contract.
These factors seemingly point to a potential trade in Lohrei’s future. On top of this, the Boston Bruins also have a positional logjam in defense. Boston.com’s Conor Ryan recently hinted that “a trade or two feels inevitable” to help ease this congestion. After all, Boston likely does not want to pay Lohrei just to have him watch games from the press box.
Boston has Money to Make a Significant Move
This is hardly the first time that the Boston Bruins have been linked to offloading Lohrei. It was revealed back in November 2025 that general manager Don Sweeney could look to trade the once highly-rated blueliner. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa then reported in July that Lohrei (and potentially Henri Jokiharju) will likely be dealt by the Bruins.
According to PuckPedia.com, Boston has over $5 million in projected cap space. Sweeney could look to trade Lohrei to help free up even more funds. The Bruins GM has shown that he is not afraid to make big moves and is likely looking to boost his blue line.
Bruins $6.4 Million Star Reveals Frustrations Amid Trade Links