Poll: Who Had The Best Deadline In The Atlantic Division?
While it was a slower day than normal, the trade deadline is now behind us. There were still a good number of impactful swings made on deadline day and in the week leading up to it. Over the next week, PHR will be running a series of polls asking which team had the best deadline in each division. Today, we’re starting out with the Atlantic. Here’s a synopsis of all eight teams, sorted by best to worst points percentage in 2025-26:
Tampa Bay Lightning
It was a relatively quiet deadline season for the Bolts. Despite dealing with several injuries this season, the only trade the team made was acquiring Corey Perry from the Los Angeles Kings for a 2028 second-round pick.
Perry has already registered two goals and one fight since returning to Tampa Bay, adding to his 13-goal, 30-point campaign this season. He’s appeared in five of the last six Stanley Cup Finals, losing them all, giving the Lightning a familiar, hungry, and experienced veteran winger in the bottom-six.
Buffalo Sabres
Although they were unable to acquire defenseman Colton Parayko from the St. Louis Blues, the red-hot Sabres were still one of the most active teams on deadline day. In three separate deals, the Sabres acquired Sam Carrick, Tanner Pearson, Luke Schenn, and Logan Stanley for Jacob Bryson, Isak Rosen, a 2026 third-round pick, a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick, Chicago’s 2026 sixth-round pick, a 2026 seventh-round pick, and a 2027 second-round pick.
Outside of Carrick, the other three acquisitions will become unrestricted free agents this summer, unless Buffalo extends them before July 1st. Additionally, even though they parted with five draft selections in the next two drafts, the Sabres still have 10 picks available, with plenty of time to replenish their cupboard. It was a shift from the big-game hunting the Sabres were expected to pursue, but it was a wise strategy to enhance their depth for the upcoming playoff run.
Montreal Canadiens
The Canadiens were arguably the most surprising team on deadline day. Montreal was active on several fronts leading up to the deadline, yet it was one of the few teams that did not make a single trade.
Although it’s defensible that the team didn’t pull the trigger on acquiring a second-line center, given the asking price for many of them, it was surprising that the Canadiens couldn’t find a way to move on from Patrik Laine. During the Olympics, it was reported that Montreal wasn’t expecting Laine back with the team this season, even if he became healthy. The Kings were one of the few teams interested, but the Canadiens will hold onto him until the summer.
Boston Bruins
Like the Canadiens, the Bruins were another quiet team on deadline day. Although they made a few trades, they were only made to build up their AHL squad, the Providence Bruins.
Unlike Montreal, there were very few expectations around Boston to make a move. A few reports linked them to some of the higher-level names available, though the Bruins are only one year removed from being one of the most active sellers at the deadline. Boston likely could have made some additions to reward the team’s performance this year, but they weren’t in a position to give up significant assets.
Detroit Red Wings
Of all the teams in the Atlantic Division, the Red Wings likely had the highest expectations leading up to the deadline. Over the past two years, despite being in a wild-card spot, Detroit effectively stood pat at the trade deadline, leading many to question the team’s commitment to getting back to the postseason.
Connected to most of the market’s top names, the Red Wings arguably landed the best player of any of their divisional opponents. Just before the deadline, Detroit acquired top-four defenseman Justin Faulk from the Blues for prospect Dmitri Buchelnikov, Justin Holl, a 2026 first-round pick, and a 2026 third-round pick. Earlier in the day, the Red Wings traded Elmer Söderblom to the Penguins for the third-round pick that was eventually sent to St. Louis, and acquired veteran winger David Perron from the Senators for a fourth-round pick.
Ottawa Senators
If only the Senators had gotten league-average goaltending for the first part of the regular season. Because of the lackluster play between the pipes, the Senators are on the outside of the playoff conversation, though they do have plenty of time to make up the ground. Still, it made for a complicated deadline strategy.
By the end of the deadline, the only move of consequence Ottawa made was sending Buffalo’s 2026 second-round pick and a 2026 conditional third-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for Warren Foegele and a Dallas’ conditional 2026 third-round pick. Effectively, Foegele replaces Perron in the lineup after a difficult start to the year with the Kings. Foegele is only one year removed from back-to-back 20-goal campaigns.
Florida Panthers
Nothing stops a juggernaut like injuries. Although they aren’t mathematically eliminated, it’s highly unlikely that the Panthers will have the opportunity to defend their back-to-back Stanley Cup championships this spring.
According to most reports, the Panthers were thought to have been looking to deal some of their pending unrestricted free agents, but only parted ways with defenseman Jeff Petry with the Minnesota Wild. It appears that Florida is more interested in keeping the group together and hopes for better health during the 2026-27 campaign.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Like every other team, the Maple Leafs aren’t mathematically eliminated from the postseason yet, but it is highly unlikely they’ll continue their postseason streak. Given that, Toronto was thought to be listening to nearly every player on the roster to maximize their potential return.
By the end of deadline day, the Maple Leafs had traded Nicolas Roy, Scott Laughton, and Bobby McMann for Colorado’s 2027 first-round pick, Colorado’s 2026 fifth-round pick, Ottawa’s 2026 third-round pick, Columbus’s 2027 second-round pick, and Anaheim’s 2026 fourth-round pick. Toronto still lacks its top two selections this season, unless they finish fifth overall or higher. However, they managed to re-stock some of their draft capital over the next two years.
Of all the teams in the Atlantic Division, which do you think had the best deadline season? Vote below!
Who Had The Best Deadline In The Atlantic Division?
Photo courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images.
Predators Acquire Dalton Bancroft, Massimo Rizzo From Bruins
The Bruins have acquired left-winger Navrin Mutter from the Predators in exchange for right-winger Dalton Bancroft and center Massimo Rizzo, both teams announced. As the deal was completed after last Friday’s trade deadline, all three players are ineligible to be recalled for the remainder of this season. However, they’ll report to their new AHL affiliates ahead of tomorrow’s trade/loan deadline in that league.
All three players are in the last year of their deals. While Bancroft and Rizzo will remain under Nashville’s control this summer as pending restricted free agents, Mutter is a pending Group VI unrestricted free agent and can reach the open market. He’s three days away from his 25th birthday and was an undrafted free agent signing by Nashville back in 2022 out of OHL Kitchener.
Since then, Mutter has spent the last four seasons playing almost exclusively for AHL Milwaukee, aside from a half-year demotion to ECHL Atlanta in 2023-24. The 6’3″, 203-lb winger essentially amounts to minor-league enforcer depth. He was never a big offensive producer in juniors, and that hasn’t changed in Milwaukee, where he has just four goals and 20 points in 149 career games but owns a whopping 299 penalty minutes.
Nashville takes a similarly-cast player back in the deal in the 25-year-old Bancroft. He’s a few pounds heavier than Mutter but has the same frame and play style. He’s in just his first professional season, though, signing with Boston out of Cornell University last season, also as a UDFA. He clicked at over a point per game for the Big Red as a junior but has just two goals and an assist in 39 games for Providence since debuting last spring, along with 30 penalty minutes.
The most dynamic threat in the swap is Rizzo, who Boston had just acquired from the Flyers on deadline day last week. The 24-year-old pivot only played once for Providence before being sent on the move again. A standout over three years at the University of Denver, Rizzo only managed 16 points in 48 games for Philly’s AHL affiliate last season and had spent the entirety of this year in the ECHL before the trade, where he had a 6-16–22 scoring line in 29 games. He’s the only player in this swap who likely has a sniff at an NHL future, and even that’s a stretch, but the Preds are nonetheless hoping he can rediscover his offensive confidence in Milwaukee over the final few weeks of the season before determining whether to give him a qualifying offer.
Bruins Sign Frederic Brunet To Two-Year Extension
The Bruins announced they’ve signed defense prospect Frederic Brunet to a two-year contract extension. The deal carries a cap hit of $875,000 and is two-way in 2026-27, then converts to a one-way deal in 2027-28.
Brunet, 22, was a fifth-rounder by the Bruins in 2022 after going undrafted the year prior. He has played almost exclusively for AHL Providence since turning pro out of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League at the end of the 2022-23 season. The 6’3″, 201-lb lefty has steadily developed his two-way game since then and is now one of the B’s’ more intriguing call-up options. He’s logged an 18-49–67 scoring line in 173 career AHL outings with a +38 rating. That includes career-highs in goals (11) and points (28) set this year.
With all that positive development trending toward Brunet becoming perhaps a long-term third-pairing staple in Boston (with potential utility even higher in the lineup), it’s a surprise he hasn’t received a longer look in the NHL. He debuted in Game 82 of the regular season last year against the Devils and has gone the entire season this year without a call-up. It’s been the more experienced Michael Callahan and Victor Söderström getting the bumps to the NHL roster if needed, and although they’re having strong seasons in their own right, the talent gap between them and Brunet isn’t all that significant.
His consistently strong two-way numbers in Providence, plus his NHL-ready frame, should translate into more meaningful call-up opportunities over the next two seasons. Boston being willing to hand out a one-way pact for the second half of the deal indicates they are expecting him to make a push for a roster spot by 2027-28. For now, he avoids restricted free agency this summer, coming off his entry-level contract, with another chance to be an RFA in 2028.
Canucks Trade Lukas Reichel To Bruins
The Canucks have dealt depth forward Lukas Reichel to the Bruins for a sixth-round pick, Pierre LeBrun of TSN reports. It’s Boston’s sixth-round pick in this year’s draft, the team announced.
It’s the second time this year that Reichel has been traded. Unfortunately, the Canucks have taken a step back in terms of asset management. Earlier this season, Vancouver acquired Reichel from the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2027 fourth-round pick.
Reichel, 23, has seen his stock drop significantly over the past several years. The Blackhawks drafted him with the 17th overall pick of the 2020 NHL Draft after scoring 12 goals and 24 points in 42 games for the DEL’s Eisbären Berlin.
After spending one more year in his native Germany, Reichel moved to North America for the 2021-22 campaign. He played exceptionally well for the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs in his first two years, scoring 41 goals and 108 points in 111 games.
Still, he was unable to generate much success in the NHL. Across four and a half years with the Blackhawks, Reichel is credited with 22 goals and 58 points in 174 games with a -60 rating, averaging 13:21 of ice time per game. Furthermore, his 41.3% CorsiFor% at even strength didn’t indicate a breakout was on the horizon, either.
He instantly became a trade candidate at the beginning of the season, and the center-needy Canucks took their shot. It was more of the same in British Columbia, as Reichel will finish his tenure in Vancouver with one assist in 14 games.
Things got so bad with the Canucks that the team placed him on waivers a few months ago, but he ultimately made it through the wire unscathed. He’s been with the Abbotsford Canucks since, scoring six goals and 13 points in 23 games.
From the Bruins’ perspective, this trade was about helping out their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Providence has dominated the AHL’s Atlantic Division this season and is looking to make some noise in the Calder Cup playoffs.
Bruins, Flyers Swap Minor-League Skaters
The Bruins and Flyers announced a swap of minor-league skaters on deadline morning. Boston brings in forwards Massimo Rizzo and Alexis Gendron, while Philly lands forward Brett Harrison and defender Jackson Edward.
It’s an AHL and ECHL-bound skater each way. The most notable name is probably Harrison, a 22-year-old pivot who went 85th overall to Boston in the 2021 draft. The Ontario native once held a relatively high spot on the Bruins’ prospect ladder due to its overall weakness, but thanks to Boston’s retooling over the past couple of years, he hasn’t gotten an extended AHL opportunity, and his development has remained stagnant.
Largely a bottom-six piece for Providence, Harrison’s offense has varied very little from year-to-year. He put up 14 points in 47 games as a first-year pro in 2023-24 and has 17 points through 46 games this season. He has good size at 6’3″ and 201 lbs and could have a little more offensive upside to move up the lineup in the Flyers’ system in Lehigh Valley, but he’ll need to add some physicality to his game if he ever wants to get an NHL look.
The Flyers land another big body alongside Harrison in Edward, a 6’2″, 201-lb lefty who was a seventh-rounder in 2022. A pure shutdown threat first and foremost, he spent a good bit of time in Providence last season as a rookie, but has been more of a regular with ECHL Maine this year. In 68 pro games between Providence and Maine over the last year-plus, he’s managed two goals and 16 points with a -3 rating and 61 penalty minutes.
The Bruins’ additions are more offensively geared. Rizzo is 24 and was a seventh-round pick back in 2019, but he made some noise in the Flyers’ system, turning pro out of the University of Denver in 2024. He had 44 points in 30 games as a senior, his second straight point-per-game season, and the expectation was he’d be a significant AHL contributor out of the gate and potentially push for an NHL job.
That never happened. Rizzo only managed six goals and 18 points in 46 AHL games last year before failing to crack Lehigh Valley’s roster entirely for 2025-26. He’s spent the entire year on assignment to ECHL Reading, where he’s recorded a 6-16–22 scoring line in 29 outings with a -6 rating. The B’s are hoping he can turn that momentum into some potentially increased output in Providence.
Gendron, 22, was a seventh-round pick in 2022, taken 20 picks after Edward. The 5’11” winger plays a high-motor game and has the most successful pro track record of anyone in this transaction. He impressed with 20 goals in 63 games as a first-year pro for Lehigh Valley last season, creating some hope that he could end up as a fourth-line depth piece for Philly.
He’s still young enough that his development could come to pass. He’s having an even better offensive showing here in 2025-26 with a 10-12–22 scoring line in 47 outings for Lehigh Valley. He’ll now look to slot into an impact role for a P-Bruins squad that just lost Dans Locmelis for the season due to shoulder surgery.
Latest On Conor Garland
Within 24 hours of the trade deadline, Canucks winger Conor Garland is becoming one of the hottest names available. The Islanders made a significant push for him earlier in the week, and while they remain in the hunt to land him, they weren’t able to get a deal done then. That’s opened the door for more suitors to make themselves known. Pierre LeBrun of TSN relays that the Blue Jackets, Capitals, Devils, Sharks, and Bruins are pitching offers in addition to the Isles’ previously reported interest.
Garland isn’t the only Vancouver winger with term available. They’ve made it known that Brock Boeser and Jake DeBrusk can both be had, and all three players are signed through at least 2030-31. Garland has become the most likely name to move due to a lack of trade protection, though. There’s likely an urgency on Vancouver’s end to shuffle him out before that changes on July 1, too; he’ll have a no-movement clause commencing along with the six-year, $36MM extension he signed last summer that any acquiring team will be taking on in full.
Like every Canuck, this has been a season to forget for Garland. The soon-to-be 30-year-old is normally money in the bank for 15 goals and 45 points, but has only managed a 7-19–26 scoring line in 50 appearances. His 6.8% shooting rate is by far a career low and nearly four full points below his career average, though. Some positive regression is due.
Nonetheless, teams have never been keen on Garland as a finisher. His value comes from his playmaking ability and his high-end speed – plus a good degree of pot-stirring and physicality despite only checking in at 5’10” and 165 lbs.
Columbus has an apt top-nine, even if their team offense is right around league average. There isn’t so much a short-term need for Garland as there is a long-term one. A player with that much contractual security is attractive for a Blue Jackets team that has three of its top six players in terms of points-per-game this season slated for unrestricted free agency this summer. They’re looking to get deals done for all of Charlie Coyle, Boone Jenner, and Mason Marchment, but in the likely event they don’t go three-for-three, they’ll need some sort of insurance policy. That’s where Garland comes in.
Garland would be a similar long-term insurance policy for the Caps to make sure they don’t lose too much firepower if Alex Ovechkin opts to call it a career in the coming months. Of course, the 40-year-old is still Washington’s leading scorer with 24 goals and 50 points in 63 games, but has remained noncommittal about whether he’ll re-sign in Washington (he’s a pending UFA), return home to Russia to close out his career, or retire outright.
New Jersey has been clear about its desire to add an impact top-nine piece. They’re willing to dangle a defenseman to make it happen, but if they’re going to make 2022 #2 overall pick Simon Nemec available to Vancouver, they’ll likely ask for more than just Garland. Earlier today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said any Devils blue-liner outside of Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce is available.
The Sharks have an excess of prospects and draft capital to leverage. For a Canucks team clearly headed toward something more resembling a full teardown than a retool, they could be well-positioned to provide the most attractive package – plus an already-established relationship after San Jose acquired Kiefer Sherwood from Vancouver just a couple of months ago.
That Boston would be interested in Garland, too, is no surprise considering they’ve also had some documented interest in a reunion with DeBrusk. The latter has been more productive and carries a slightly lesser cap hit, but, because of those two factors, might require a slightly richer price than Garland that they aren’t willing to pay.
Latest On Bruins’ Deadline Plans
The Bruins find themselves squarely in contention for a playoff berth amid deadline week, not a spot most expected them to be in back in training camp. Their 5-2-3 record in their last 10 has somewhat upended their push, but they still remain with a a 54.2% chance at a postseason spot, per MoneyPuck – a slightly favorable coin flip.
Amid a crowded field, the Bruins aren’t keen to sell off more assets after last season’s deadline fire sale. Instead, general manager Don Sweeney yesterday reiterated his desire to reward his group for a strong start, but confirmed they’re not much concerned with the rental market and are instead focused on “moving forward as well.”
Sweeney did add yesterday that he’s “not in a rush to usher guys out the door” when asked about the futures of pending unrestricted free agents Andrew Peeke and Viktor Arvidsson (via Joe Haggerty of Boston Sports Journal). That’s a bit of a course reversal from last month when The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa indicated they were more willing to dangle Peeke for futures (or a longer-term upgrade elsewhere on the roster), although they weren’t keen on moving on from Arvidsson at that time, either.
It does make perfect sense that Sweeney won’t sell the farm for a pending UFA as he has in years past, even with the B’s in playoff position. Last season’s quick retool has paid immense dividends thus far, but isn’t complete. There’s a bit of restraint shown in not accelerating it too much, especially amid an incredibly crowded field of Eastern Conference competitors down the stretch.
That said, if a name can help them for the rest of the decade (or at least past this season), it’ll be something they consider. Per The Fourth Period’s updated trade board today, they’ve at least kicked the tires on veteran names with term all around the lineup like Jake DeBrusk, Justin Faulk, Nazem Kadri, and Rasmus Ristolainen, among others. Another report last week linked them to Flyers winger Owen Tippett. It’s also clear they’re willing to leverage some of their mid-to-high-end prospects, namely pivot Matthew Poitras, to make it happen.
Bruins Interested In Owen Tippett
The Bruins have interest in Flyers winger Owen Tippett, according to a report from Anthony Di Marco of The Fourth Period. Di Marco also reports that the Flyers have identified Boston center prospects Matthew Poitras and Dean Letourneau as desirable pieces in a return, as well as defenseman Mason Lohrei. It’s unknown how close a deal has gotten or what the exact framework of talks has been, but Boston has checked in on Tippett’s availability “several times this season,” Di Marco writes.
Tippett, 27, was a first-round pick by the Panthers in 2017 and, after finding his way to Philly in the 2022 Claude Giroux deal, broke out as a consistent second-line scoring piece immediately upon his arrival. He’s never had a big breakthrough by any means but has been remarkably consistent over the past four years.
His points per game rates have fallen in a narrow window between 0.56 and 0.68 since 2022-23, with his goal-scoring rates per game even more precise between 0.26 and 0.36. He averages 16 to 17 minutes per game and has held consistently strong possession impacts, peaking with a relative Corsi For share of 2.3% at 5-on-5 this season.
Not only would Tippett be an immediate plug-and-play 25-goal scorer for a Bruins team with a top-heavy offense, but he’d come with a good deal of control. Tippett is less than two years removed from signing an eight-year, $49.6MM extension with the Flyers, which carries a $6.2MM cap hit.
He’s got six years left on that deal but has a modified no-trade clause kicking in on July 1 this year, affording him a 10-team no-trade list through the end of the 2029-30 season. Whether that would impede any future deal to the B’s remains to be seen, but it’s a factor to keep in mind if Boston identifies him as a must-have target.
The prospects Di Marco reports the Flyers have been eyeing are on opposite trajectories. After impressing out of camp in his age-19 season, Poitras – who the B’s are reportedly dangling in other talks – has yet to settle back into a full-time NHL role.
He dropped out of Boston’s top-five prospects before the season, according to NHL.com. The 2022 second-rounder is days away from his 22nd birthday and does have a 7-20–27 scoring line in 69 career NHL games, but the 6’0″ playmaker’s AHL production has regressed to 30 points and a -5 rating in 47 games this season after notching over a point per game in 2024-25.
Letourneau, however, has seen his stock take a meteoric rise this year. He was also left off NHL.com’s top five list and was ranked right at #5 by Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis last offseason. The gargantuan 6’7″ pivot was a controversial selection late in the first round of the 2024 draft right out of the Canadian high school system, and the criticism of the pick was only backed up by Letourneau managing just three assists in 36 games as a freshman for Boston College last year.
A night-and-day sophomore season now sees Letourneau producing over a point per game, ranking second on B.C. in scoring behind fellow B’s center prospect James Hagens with a 19-15–34 line in 31 games. That breakout, combined with that elusive size and skill combination, could very well make Letourneau check in as Boston’s #2 prospect behind Hagens at this point.
With his emergence in mind, that pair of prospects would be a substantial return for Tippett on their own – not to mention a defensively flawed but high-skill piece on the back end in Lohrei. Promising young centers will be the most valuable piece of most any trade, but especially to the Flyers, who have two top-nine pivots on the wrong side of 30 and their current fourth-line pivot, Carl Grundström, is a natural winger.
They do have some names in the system, like 2025 first-rounder Jack Nesbitt, but he’s having an offensively conservative post-draft season and was tabbed by most as a high-end third-line piece in the NHL anyway. That makes the prospect of adding a name with top-six ceiling like Letourneau especially appealing.
Bruins Open To Moving Matthew Poitras
Just a few seasons ago, it looked like Matthew Poitras was going to be a key piece of Boston’s forward group for years to come. But things haven’t played out that way and now, it appears they’ve deemed him expendable. David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that the Bruins are now willing to move Poitras as they look to bolster their roster for the stretch run.
The 21-year-old was a second-round pick by Boston back in 2022, going 54th overall and surprised many by making the NHL roster just one year later. Poitras played in 33 games in 2023-24, picking up 15 points while also impressing at the World Juniors. However, he needed season-ending shoulder surgery in the second half of the campaign and things have been trending in the wrong direction since then.
Last season, Poitras started the year with the big club but since he was now eligible to be sent to Providence in the minors, the Bruins elected to shuffle him back and forth a bit. In the AHL, he was quite productive, picking up 41 points in 40 games, an especially impressive performance for a 20-year-old. But that didn’t translate to much success with Boston as he was limited to just one goal and 10 assists in 31 games.
The dip in production saw Poitras lose his roster spot heading into training camp and he has played predominantly with Providence this season where his numbers have slipped; he has nine goals and 21 helpers in 47 games so far. Meanwhile, he has only had one brief recall which came just before the Olympic break, scoring once in three games but he has been back in the minors since the start of the break.
Poitras changed agents earlier this season heading into his contract negotiations this summer where he’ll be a restricted free agent for the first time. For now, he’s costing a very affordable $870K on the cap when he’s in the NHL. This is his final season of waiver exemption, as well.
While his stock has undoubtedly fallen, young centers who have had some semblance of NHL success aren’t exactly easy to come by. With that in mind, Poitras should still generate some strong interest if GM Don Sweeney decides to part with him to get a win-now piece to try to give them a push to maintain their playoff positioning.
Bruins Reassign Michael DiPietro
Feb. 27: Boston reassigned DiPietro to Providence following last night’s win over the Blue Jackets, per the AHL’s transactions log. Swayman will return to the team for tomorrow’s game against the Flyers. DiPietro was needed for six minutes of game action to relieve Korpisalo, who was temporarily pulled by concussion spotters before returning. He stopped both shots he faced.
Feb. 24: DiPietro was recalled back to Boston today, per Ryan. It’s unclear if he’s up solely for practice purposes or if they’re expecting to need him to back up Korpisalo against the Blue Jackets if Swayman doesn’t return to the team by Thursday.
Feb. 20: Boston has assigned DiPietro back to Providence, Conor Ryan of the Boston Globe reports.
Feb. 18: The Bruins announced Wednesday that they’ve recalled goaltender Michael DiPietro from AHL Providence on an emergency basis. He’ll serve as Boston’s lone NHL-contracted practice netminder for the time being, as Jeremy Swayman (USA) and Joonas Korpisalo (Finland) are still representing their respective countries at the Olympics.
Back during training camp, there was concern DiPietro wouldn’t make it through waivers on his way to Providence. The 26-year-old had emerged as one of the AHL’s top netminders over the previous two seasons, including a .927 SV% in 40 games last year that earned him the Baz Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s best goaltender.
He’s well on his way to taking home that hardware for a second straight season. In 28 appearances for the P-Bruins, he’s put up a downright ridiculous .942 SV% and 1.64 GAA with a 21-5-0 record – but somehow only has one shutout to his name. Nonetheless, he has a 12-point lead in save percentage on the second-place netminder with at least 20 appearances.
He’s signed through next season at a $812,500 cap hit, giving the Bruins almost no choice but to work with Korpisalo’s 10-team no-trade list and find a new home for the veteran backup this summer. If they can’t, they’d essentially be forced into trading DiPietro to avoid the near certainty of losing him for nothing on waivers next October.