Boston Bruins Reassign Five Players

April 10: All five have been returned to the AHL today.

April 9: The Boston Bruins have announced that five players have been recalled from their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, on an emergency basis. The players are: Vinni Lettieri, Oskar Steen, Jack Ahcan, Connor Carrick, and Brandon Bussi.

The moves come as the Bruins deal with some lingering injury issues while having already clinched the President’s Trophy. While former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall has been activated off of LTIR and back on the ice, the Bruins placed two players on Long-Term Injured Reserve yesterday and have contributors such as David Krejci still on their active roster but out of the lineup.

Since the Bruins are taking on the Philadelphia Flyers on the second half of a back-to-back set of games today, these recalls give coach Jim Montgomery the breathing room he needs to rest certain veterans or at the very least avoid overworking certain players in order to cope with the injury-related absences.

For these recalls, only one has suited up in a game for the Bruins this season, Steen. The other four have played the whole season in Providence. Steen, 25, has already played for the Bruins twice this month and has played in three total NHL games this season, scoring one goal. The speedy Swedish forward has scored 14 goals and 31 points in 63 games for Providence.

The other forward to be recalled is the 28-year-old minor league veteran Lettieri. Lettieri scored 10 points in 31 games for the Anaheim Ducks last season and is an accomplished AHL scorer, with 225 career points in 264 games. This season, he’s leading all Providence regulars with 45 points in 45 games, and now has a chance to make his NHL debut this season on one of the winningest teams in league history.

The first of two defensemen to be recalled is the 25-year-old Ahcan, an undersized offensive defenseman who the Bruins signed as an undrafted free agent out of the NCAA’s St. Cloud State in 2020. Ahcan got off to a fast start to his pro career, scoring 10 points in 19 AHL games and earning three games in Boston with the Bruins.

The following season, 2021-22, Ahcan’s AHL performance was less consistent. But although he finished with an underwhelming 23 points in 46 games, he did manage to earn six NHL games.

Ahcan has taken a step forward this season and become Providence’s number-two scoring option from the back end, producing 31 points in 65 games.

Despite that increase in production, though, Ahcan hasn’t earned time on the Bruins’ roster until today.

The other defenseman to be recalled is Carrick, a veteran of nearly 250 NHL games. The 28-year-old was once seen as a promising up-and-coming blueliner in the Washington Capitals and Toronto Maple Leafs organizations, but a mix of major injuries and inconsistent performance scuttled his hopes of delivering on that promise in his early-to-mid twenties.

Despite that disappointment, Carrick has over the past two years established himself as a difference-making minor-league blueliner who can contribute on both ends of the ice and help his team make the playoffs. Last season he scored 32 points in 59 games for the Charlotte Checkers, and this season he leads all Providence defensemen with 41 points in 60 games.

Of this group of five players that has been recalled, Carrick is the one who possesses the most NHL experience. The opportunity for him to get NHL minutes is a  significant one, as Carrick is on an expiring league-minimum two-way deal and getting some solid NHL shifts on tape before he hits the market in a few months could be extremely useful.

The final player recalled is a goalie, Bussi. Unlike the four skaters recalled with him, the 24-year-old hasn’t yet suited up for an NHL game. In fact, Bussi only made his professional debut last season. He has had a strong 31-game season in Providence, though, and his 21-5-4 record and .925 save percentage are highly respectable figures.

It’s unclear whether Bussi will get any time in the Bruins’ crease as they close out their regular season, but given Vezina Trophy contender Linus Ullmark’s injury history over the course of his career, it seems logical that the Bruins would want to add another name to the mix in their crease to ensure their two established netminders are able to get the rest they might need before the playoffs.

Seeing as Providence doesn’t play until Saturday whereas Boston has a game today (after playing yesterday) and two more this week, it seems these recalls were made to help add some fresh legs to the Bruins’ roster with their regular-season fate already decided.

Since these moves likely won’t impact their AHL team’s chase of an Atlantic Division title, bringing them to the active roster to possibly allow some Bruins veterans to take a game off seems like a wise decision for a squad looking to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images