Which Bruins have the most to prove when training camp opens, with rookies first to report?

Defenseman Frederic Brunet, now 23 and about to enter his fourth full pro season, has participated in four rookie tourneys since his 2022 draft year. Considered now as a legit contender to vie for a varsity job, he’s not expected in Buffalo. Tenure and a couple of solid AHL seasons bring their privileges.

Hagens, who won’t turn 20 until Nov. 3, impressed Sturm in a limited five-game look (three of those in playoff Round 1) at the end of last season after his two years at Boston College. In a recent interview at Warrior with the Globe, Sturm said he’s leaning toward putting Hagens on the wing again, but did not discount the ex-Eagle snaring a spot at center.

“He was really good when he came in last year — better than I thought,” mused Sturm, who watched newcomer Fraser Minten grow increasingly comfortable with center duties last season. “Hagens came in at a tough time, crunch time when no mistakes are allowed. I think that’s the way he played a little bit, too. At times, I think he didn’t show the player he is, but I was fine with it because he did his job.”

Sturm explained that he felt Hagens, chosen No. 7 in the 2025 draft, will see his game emerge when he executes more on instinct. His game was clean and efficient, but short on offensive creativity and impact — common for newbies who still must adjust to the uptick in game pace and how best to interact with new linemates. It’s all a bigger ask when stepping into a league that is some six months into regular-season play.

“Having that experience now, and having the summer to get bigger and stronger and older,” added Sturm, “I think we should see more of the real James Hagens. I could tell he didn’t want to make mistakes. He wanted to play. He wanted to help the team. So what does he do? He thinks, right? A lot of times he was maybe a step behind because of that. And I don’t blame this kid. I really don’t. He did his job and he did it good. But now, knowing me, knowing us and our playing system, I think it should be more automatic for him.”

Ergo, “for now”, added Sturm, he wants to keep Hagens on a wing spot. “But, I could really see him as a centerman here someday. I’ll be patient, help him, and see how it goes.”

Latvian forward Dans Locmelis, who played at UMass-Amherst, is fully healthy again after late-season shoulder surgery, according to Sturm. He and Matthew Poitras (provided he signs a contact extension) both could vie for wing positions in the main camp.

Newcomer Attilio Biasca, the Swiss forward who signed early this summer as a free agent, will be in Buffalo. Age 23, he’d really have to light it up in very short order in order to avoid starting his pro career in AHL Providence.

Come the following Wednesday, Bruins fans will get their first look at newcomers JJ Peterka (forward) and Will Borgen (defenseman) in Bruins uniforms, along with the return of plucky backliner Connor Clifton.

Peterka will be dropped into a wing position in the top six. Borgen projects as a 20-minute time-on-ice muncher among the top four. Clifton was brought back to provide snarl in the No. 3 pairing.

A fundamental blue line shift this season, connected in part to the Borgen acquisition from the Rangers, will be franchise defenseman Charlie McAvoy getting fewer reps on the penalty killing unit. He averaged 2:48 per game on the PK last season, and did so willingly, but it was too much, in Sturm’s opinion. A chunk of that work will be designated for Borgen.

“We felt it was a lot on McAvoy,” said Sturm. “He did a lot, almost too much. He probably loved it, but I think [fewer PK minutes] will help us overall, because we feel there’s still room in McAvoy’s game. But he needs the energy for it and we were asking a lot in the past. He did great with it, but hopefully this can help a little bit.”

The waiting is almost over. The frozen sky soon will gobble the summer down, the sun to turn traitor gold. The urge to go back to the rink is upon us.

DEAL DEMANDS

Less than two weeks before NHL clubs open varsity training camps, the Jets had yet to fulfill Connor Hellebuyck’s trade request as the holiday weekend began

Ditto for Dylan Larkin in Detroit, where the Red Wings remain without a general manager after ownership’s impulsive move in mid-July that took the pucks ‘n’ bucks out of Steve Yzerman’s hands. Offseasons are too important to keep the corner office empty for seven weeks and counting. It all but guarantees the Red Wings will log an 11th straight playoff DNQ in 2026-27.

Both Hellebuyck and Larkin are franchise assets with five years remaining on their deals, and their attendant no-trade clauses, at near-identical dollars (Larkin’s $8.7 million AAV vs. Hellebuyck’s $8.5 million).

Now both want to be set free. We could torch digital forests here in regard to parties living up to contract promises, but why bother? The old-world ethics of the games we love long ago found their way to most fans’ “Who Cares?” file cabinet. They’ll get dealt, with the Red Wings and Jets in control of a timeline compressed by the need to remain competitivedespite marquee players not honoring their deals.

On a broader scale, both owners and players would do well in their next collective bargaining agreement taffy pull to develop language around the nullification/reneging of no-trade clauses. If it increasingly becomes a player’s cudgel to ask out, forcing owners to make unplanned trades and disrupt roster engineering, then clubs at least should be allowed to stop paying the player, and remove his cap hit, until a deal is finalized. Reminder: it’s a business, for both sides.

There would have to be time limits attached to such a no-pay provision, but overall, it’s only fair some price is paid when a player opts not to honor a very significant contract clause that both parties bargained in good faith. Owners certainly can’t do it. Their only option, though not realistic in the vast majority of cases, is to buy out the contract (typically a one-third reduction of the deal’s total value). Instead, GMs do what they are forced to do, find a once-loving spouse a new home (Hallmark needs a card for these bittersweet partings).

The growing narrative around Larkin and Hellebuyck is that they’re both being picky about their landing spot — Larkin preferring to go to the Panthers, Wild, Golden Knights, or Stars and Hellebuyck said to offer Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff a more expanded menu of alternatives. They not only want to bolt for the door, but also dictate their next suitor. I’d say only in America, but, you know, Winnipeg.

A rumored deal that would have had Hellebuyck sent to the Sabres for the No. 4 pick in the June draft and winger Jack Quinn (No. 8 pick in 2020) never materialized. That would have been decent return value, but not enough. Hellebuyck, though 33, has the profile that could bring the Sabres a Dominik Hasek-like presence in net. Hasek was 27, and a virtual unknown, when the Blackhawks dished him to Buffalo in the summer of ‘92. He was a six-time Vezina winner during his tour aside Lake Erie.

The Bruins, by the way, have not been rumored in talks for either Hellebuyck or Larkin. They don’t need a goalie, with No. 1 Jeremy Swayman under contract for six more years. The speedy, skilled Larkin would be a splendid fit at No. 1 center, their best answer since losing Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci three years ago, but thus far he has not publicly evinced an interest in the Hub of Hockey. Assets back also would be a significant reach for the Bruins, the Red Wings likely eyeing both Minten and Hagens.

The Panthers could be the sleeper for Hellebuyck. They had no issue in moving on from two-time Stanley Cup winner Sergei Bobrovsky (now Toronto’s No. 1) and dealt for ex-Devil Jacob Markstrom. So they appear set. However, Florida GM Bill Zito has a way of unexpectedly landing the big fish (witness: brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk among others). Hellebuyck would be an upgrade on Markstrom and further solidify the Panthers, now healthy again, among the small group of Cup favorites.

ETC.

The read here in the notes column early last month, doubted then by some skeptics, was that Cale Makar would be the first in NHL history to ring up a max-cap deal. The bet was placed largely around the cascading economics the Flyers triggered with July’s restricted free agent offer sheet (five years/$90million) to Anaheim’s Leo Carlsson.

Chance that Anaheim wasn’t going to match: zero.

Makar ultimately came within pocket change of a history-setting max cap haul. The Avalanche extended him for eight years, $163.2 million, for an average annual value of $20.4 million. The record-setting deal worked out a mere 0.38 percent shy of a 20 percent maximum payout ($20.8 million).

Had the Avalanche waited until next summer, with Makar then 28 and officially an unrestricted free agent, the 20 percent max would have pushed his AAV to $22.7 million per season. Over the eight-year term, the added cost for Colorado would have been $18.4 million (factored against the projected cap boost to $113.5 million for 2027-28), not including the $400,000 per annum that ended up Makar’s hometown discount.

Is Makar worth it? Colorado paid it, ergo … he’s worth it.

It’s really as simple as setting a price for your house, and someone agreeing to pay the ask. Or your car. Or that vintage Flexible Flyer tucked way up there in grandma’s garage rafters.

The Avalanche realized full well that the unrestricted free agent market next July 1 would have had a minimum six to eight teams ponying up identical $22.7 million offers for Makar. The former UMass defenseman is the top offensive producer at his position, averaging 1.08 points per game since entering as a rookie in 2019-20. The two blue liners next in line: Quinn Hughes (0.96 points per game) and Roman Josi (0.92).

Something else Makar has that Hughes and Josi can’t boast: his name on the Stanley Cup and the Conn Smythe (playoff MVP) for the same year (2022).

Now, who’s next to join Makar at the top of the cap pyramid?

At this hour, there are five main contenders, albeit with varying timelines, including: Connor McDavid (Edmonton), Nikita Kucherov (Tampa Bay), Zach Werenski (Columbus), Hughes (Minnesota), and Jason Robertson (Dallas).

Kucherov ($9.5 million), Hughes ($7.85 million), and Robertson ($12 million) all will enter the upcoming season on target to be UFA’s next July 1. McDavid ($12.5 million) and Werenski ($9.6 million) have two seasons left on their deals.

Kucherov has age (33) working against his hopes of landing a long-term deal near the max. More likely his best outcome is something closer to Carlsson money ($18 million) for five or six years. His numbers the last four seasons (155 goals, 508 points) rank second only to McDavid (170/523). McDavid is faster and more clever and creative, but Kucherov’s searing, accurate shot is in that Alex Ovechkin stratosphere.

In Minnesota, GM Bill Guerin keeps up the optimistic beat that Hughes will extend his stay. Hughes is clever and dynamic, but not quite of Makar’s profile for full-game impact. Guerin, though, has a history of ponying up the dough (Exhibit A: Kirill Kaprizov, eight years at $17 million per in the pre-Carlsson-offer-sheet world). If Guerin can get it done with Hughes, the price looks to be around $19 million, somewhere near the Kaprizov-Makar midpoint.

Robertson in July opted for a one-year extension with the Stars at $12 million. He is now on target to hit the UFA market holding the highest payout in hand as the starting point to negotiations. He’s young (27) and a rare, bold talent off the wing. Maybe I’m undervaluing him, but right now about $15 million looks like his ceiling — unless he pops for 40 goals/100 points this season.

The July 2028 UFAs, McDavid and Werenski, both will have excellent cases for the max. McDavid had that case before signing his current pact (two years/$25 million) but chose the stay-here-and-get-the-Cup option, remaining true to northern Alberta. He ended up leaving some $15 million on the table. Mercy.

Werenski’s numbers, though impressive, have been held down by the Blue Jackets’ futility (six consecutive playoff DNQs). He is big, smooth, mobile and easily could produce in that point-per-game range of Makar if plugged into a legit contender. Like McDavid and Makar, he’s a difference maker, and that should put him right there in max cap nirvana.

Net-front battle and his forwards’ hunger to get into prime scoring areas, will be points of emphasis when Sturm readies his roster for the upcoming 84-game season and the playoffs.

After rolling up 100 points last season, an impressive rebound off of the prior year’s playoff DNQ, the Bruins were ushered out of Round 1 by a Sabres team more willing, efficient, and successful in getting to the net.

“When your smallest guy, like [Viktor] Arvidsson, was [the one] most of the time around the net, that shows me that’s not going to help,” said Sturm. “I think the big boys like [Tanner] Jeannot and [Mark] Kastelic, they tried really hard in the playoffs. So we have to do a better job. Absolutely.”

Sturm credited downsized Buffalo forward Zach Benson as a “perfect example” of a player, no matter his lack of size, able to get in front and cause damage.

“And not just Benson, but the whole team,” added Sturm. “They were around Swayman all the time. And they screwed us for a few games. At the end of the day, it hurt us, they did a better job than us. Hopefully, we learn from that.”

Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at kevin.dupont@globe.com.