Eeli Tolvanen is exactly the kind of value swing Marco Sturm and the Boston Bruins should study this summer.

Boston does not need to chase the loudest name on the board.

This market looks thinner at the top, which only makes the middle tier more important for a club trying to reset on the fly.

That is where the Bruins may actually have an edge.

Don Sweeney can look at fit, role, and term instead of getting dragged into a bidding war for a player whose best years may already be gone.

Tolvanen stands out right away.

He had 23 goals just one season ago, then dropped to 12 goals in 73 games this year while shooting 9.4 percent.

That kind of dip will push his price down.

For Boston, that is the point. The Bruins need wings who can help the top six without forcing the front office into a long, messy contract.

Oliver Bjorkstrand belongs in the same conversation.

His finish dried up, but a lot of that looks tied to percentages, not a total drop in his game.

Boston have room to attack this differently

Bjorkstrand scored on just 2.4 percent of his 5-on-5 shots.

For a team like the Bruins that still needs more punch off the rush and more support around its core, that is a bet worth thinking about.

Michael Bunting is a different type of option, and that matters too.

Boston have lacked edge at times, and Bunting brings the kind of net-front chaos that changes a second line and helps a power play.

Scott Laughton also fits the Bruins mold.

He can slide into the bottom six, take draws, handle hard minutes, and make life easier on a bench that still needs more bite and more flexibility.

Then there is Ryan Shea on the blue line.

He put up 31 points in 77 games, and that kind of low-cost depth matters for a club that cannot afford misses on the back end.

The bigger point is simple. Boston are not staring at one answer in free agency.

They have several, and that gives Sturm and Sweeney a better chance to build a deeper, cleaner roster.

That is why this offseason should not be judged only by whether the Bruins land a headline name.

If they pick the right value targets, they can come out of July looking faster, tougher, and a lot less thin.