Boston Bruins
Bruins ‘Made the Right Call’ with James Hagens, Signs New Deal
The Boston Bruins have signed James Hagens to his entry-level deal and many believe the Bruins played this situation just right.
The Boston Bruins have officially signed James Hagens to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced on Wednesday. And with that, Hagens is making the jump up to Boston. It will begin this season with an annual NHL cap hit of $975,000.
This comes just a couple of weeks after he signed an amateur tryout contract. Before signing his ATO, the Boston College forward recorded 47 points in 34 games this season, leading Hockey East. Across two seasons, he totaled 84 points in 71 games and earned All-Rookie Team honors in 2024–25.
The 19-year-old was the 7th overall pick in 2025, had 47 pts in 34 GP at Boston College, and has four points in AHL Providence games since he joined the Bruins after his college season ended. The expectation wasn’t that he would spend much time in the AHL, but the Bruins needed to sort a few things out before the could ink his entry-level deal.
Pete Blackburn of the What Chaos Show writes, “I think the Bruins made the right call with Hagens at every point. Gave him the opportunity to ease into pro action & didn’t burn his ELC before essentially locking up playoffs, but also called him up when they realized they kinda need him.”
Bryon Bader of Hockey Prospecting adds, “James Hagens had a nice bounce back season in his sophomore season. In his D-1 he looked like he was heading towards being a certain star in the model. Dropped back a bit in his draft year (which probably took him out of top 3 contention). Heading in the right direction now!”
Is Having Hagens for the Playoffs the Right Decision?
The Bruins have a guy in Hagens who they believe can contribute with some goalscoring in the postseason. The question is whether to push him in.
Conor Ryan of Boston.com and The Boston Globe argued, “I understand the reluctance and the improbability of it, but it’s more probable than what would be in just about any other scenario. Yeah, I think you look at James Hagens in that third-line spot. Is there a better option right now for the Bruins”
He didn’t believe someone like Lucas Reichel, who played under a minute against Florida in the third period the other night, was a better option. If the Bruins are open to giving Hagens 12-14 minutes on a third-line role, it makes sense to try him.
He said, “I’d rather you bring in the guy who ideally is gonna be part of your long-term equation than a guy like Lucas Reichel. So I think there’s a logical spot there for him on the depth chart. And also on power play, where the Bruins are 28th in the NHL since coming back from the Olympic break.”
He added, “I think it’s a net positive for all parties there, and especially when you look at the fact that Marco Sturm more or less has been kind of rearranging those deck chairs right with [the] guy David Pastrnak—he put him with Elias Lindholm and Morgan Geekie. He clearly has not worked this season…”
The Bruins will try to give the team a bit of a spark down the stretch, and Hagens has a bit of a wow factor coming in, along with him.
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