The Bruins announced they’ve activated defenseman Michael Callahan and left winger Matěj Blümel from injured reserve and simultaneously assigned both to AHL Providence.
Callahan had been out since early in the month with a lower-body injury, missing Boston’s last 11 games. The 26-year-old Massachusetts native was an injury replacement himself, elevated from Providence just days before when Henri Jokiharju sustained an undisclosed injury that’s still got him sidelined.
A fifth-round pick by the Coyotes back in 2018, the B’s acquired Callahan’s signing rights when he wrapped up his collegiate career with Providence College in 2022. He’s since developed into a reliable call-up option if Boston needs a no-fuss, stay-at-home option to slot in on the left side.
Callahan has now made 22 NHL appearances over this year and last, scoring once with a -6 rating while averaging 13:53 of ice time per game. Callahan’s 48.1% shot share at 5-on-5 ranks ninth among 14 Bruins defenders to play at least 50 minutes since the beginning of last season.
Boston is still dealing with injury concerns on the blue line. In addition to Jokiharju, Jonathan Aspirot and Jordan Harris are IR or LTIR-bound. The team added some younger, higher-end depth in the form of Vladislav Kolyachonok off waivers while Callahan was absent, though, meaning there was no longer a job waiting for him when he returned to health. Since he hasn’t spent 30 days on the active roster since first clearing waivers at the beginning of the season, he can be sent directly to Providence today.
Blümel is in a similar situation. When the 25-year-old was recalled from Providence in November, the B’s were without a pair of top-six pieces in Viktor Arvidsson and Casey Mittelstadt. Both have since returned, leaving Blümel as the only Boston forward on IR or LTIR. Considering fellow call-up Alex Steeves has locked down a spot in the lineup with eight goals and 10 points in 22 games, Blümel wasn’t going to usurp him for a spot and will return to an expansive role in Providence instead of burning away his waiver exemption in Boston’s press box.
Signed as a Group VI unrestricted free agent last offseason, Blümel was one of the more intriguing under-the-radar targets on the open market last summer. He’d rattled off a league-leading 39 goals in 67 games with AHL Texas the year prior while in the Stars’ system. He’d kept up a point-per-game pace with Providence to begin the year, scoring two goals and 11 assists in 13 appearances, but went scoreless with a -3 rating in four games for Boston before landing on LTIR.