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Matt Grzelcyk Did Not Travel, Out Next Three Games

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After being listed as day-to-day yesterday, Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk did not travel with the team on their current road trip and will likely miss all of the three-game swing, head coach Jim Montgomery said today (via Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald). Grzelcyk left Tuesday’s contest against the Wild with an upper-body injury after posting a -2 rating in 13:35 of ice time.

The Massachusetts-born defender is amidst the worst season of his NHL career, and it couldn’t come at a tougher time. Regarded as a high-end, complementary top-four defender with exquisite possession numbers since becoming a full-time big-leaguer in 2018, Grzelcyk is now in the final season of a four-year, $14.75MM contract and will be an unrestricted free agent next summer. Unfortunately, his game has cratered this year, posting just one goal and a -3 rating in 20 contests. He is averaging 17:04 per game, his lowest usage since averaging 16:44 per game in his rookie season in 2017-18. When healthy, he’s been stapled to a pairing with Charlie McAvoy this season, which has been the Bruins’ highest-event pairing at both ends of the rink. Grzelcyk’s -3 rating and 48% Corsi share at even strength are both career lows.

With Grzelcyk out of the lineup, rookie Mason Lohrei will skate on a pairing with McAvoy in tonight’s game against the Jets. Across multiple stints on the Bruins’ NHL roster this season, the 22-year-old Lohrei has two goals, three assists, and a -4 rating through his first 15 NHL games and is averaging 16:59 per contest.

Flames, Elias Lindholm Likely Remain Headed For Trade

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Pending unrestricted free agent center Elias Lindholm hasn’t ruled out the possibility of signing an extension with the Calgary Flames, but a trade before the March 8 deadline remains the most likely scenario, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic and TSN wrote in a column Friday morning.

The future of the Flames’ many high-end class of 2024 unrestricted free agents has been a central talking point ever since last season drew to a close. They’ve already made decisions on three of them. Last season’s leading point-getter Tyler Toffoli was traded to the Devils over the summer, 16-year veteran Mikael Backlund was given a two-year, $9MM extension and the captaincy, and shutdown defenseman Nikita Zadorov was dealt to the Canucks last month. A handful of essential players remain without contracts past this season, none more so than Lindholm.

LeBrun says the Flames “haven’t definitely told Lindholm they’re planning to move him,” but that hasn’t stopped interest from growing around the league. He explicitly names three squads as likely landing spots – the Bruins, Avalanche and Hurricanes – with the Bruins confirmed to “have some level of interest” based on his reporting. He did not confirm the Avalanche have acquired specifically about Lindholm but does believe their cap-clearing move of trading winger Tomáš Tatar to the Kraken earlier this month helps open the door for them to add a big name to their top-six forward group.

The Hurricanes are not confirmed to have any level of interest. While a fit makes sense, LeBrun rightly points out Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon’s historical unwillingness to spend assets on rental players could complicate a move. Lindholm, Carolina’s 2013 fifth-overall pick, has already had extension talks fall through with the club once, resulting in his 2018 trade to Calgary.

Both the Bruins and Avalanche have an obvious need for a top-six center. Boston has received admirable performances from Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle, who anchor their top two lines (with rookie Matthew Poitras behind them). Still, neither player has a long enough track record of shouldering top-six minutes at an above-average level long enough for the comfort of a contender. Lindholm more directly fills the gigantic shutdown center void left by the retirement of former captain Patrice Bergeron last summer, as pointed out numerous times since the Lindholm trade rumor mill began to spin a few months ago.

Boston has been plagued by a thin prospect pipeline and rocky future for seasons on end now, although they’ve seemingly come back from near-dead numerous times to remain in the league’s contending class. They can’t keep that up forever, though, and acquiring Lindholm would require parting with one of the few high-value assets they have left in their system. Short-term salary cap management is also prohibitive, as the Bruins have $26MM in cap space to allocate over nine open roster spots next season. Lindholm could quickly swallow up at least 30 percent of that space.

The Avalanche have a more pressing need on their second line. They took a flyer on 31-year-old Ryan Johansen over the summer, acquiring him at half-salary retention from the Predators, making him a $4MM player through 2025. Ideally, Johansen could rebound in a new system to the 50-60 point pace he posted during his prime with the Blue Jackets and Predators in the 2010s, but it hasn’t panned out. He ranks fourth on the team with ten goals through 33 games, but he’s recorded just two assists – giving him 12 points, a 0.36 point per game pace, and ice time that’s dipped below the 15-minute-per-game mark. None of those metrics are representative of an average second-line center, let alone one adequate enough to help the Avalanche capture their second Stanley Cup in three years.

Nathan MacKinnon can do (and has done) most of the heavy lifting, but Lindholm would be an immeasurable boost to their forward group. He’s on pace for 57 points this season, not breaking the bank by any metric, and is having the worst possession season of his career with a 47.6% Corsi share at even strength. Lindholm is turning things around, though, still routinely averaging over 20 minutes per game and posting a goal and five assists in his last five games. He would plug the hole that’s been vacant in Colorado since Nazem Kadri departed the team (ironically for Calgary) in free agency after his career-best season was instrumental in helping Colorado win their first Stanley Cup in over 20 years.

In any event, no trade seems imminent. Any potential Lindholm deal is likely to happen much closer to the trade deadline.

Latest On Matt Grzelcyk

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  • Independent Boston hockey reporter Joe Haggerty relayed word from Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery today, who said that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is out day-to-day. Grzelcyck has not been ruled out for any of the Bruins’ games during their upcoming three-game road trip, although an absence is certainly possible.

Bruins Loan Matthew Poitras To Team Canada For 2024 World Juniors

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The Bruins have loaned rookie center Matthew Poitras to Team Canada for the upcoming 2024 IIHF World Junior Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden, a team release states.

Poitras, 19, is a tremendous addition to a Canada roster that’s thinner on offense than we’re used to seeing. Canadiens prospect Owen Beck is the only returnee from last year’s group, which captured the gold medal thanks to one of the best single-tournament showings of all time from then-17-year-old Connor Bedard. The roster still features six recent first-round picks on offense and one future first-overall selection: 17-year-old Boston University center Macklin Celebrini, who is third in NCAA Division I men’s hockey in points per game.

When Hockey Canada announced the cuts from their preliminary roster last week, they left a spot open for one forward to join the team, hoping an NHL team would part with a rostered under-20 prospect. That spot will go to Poitras, the 54th overall pick in 2022, who few expected to crack the Bruins’ roster out of camp.

Poitras’ 13 points in 27 games rank eighth on the Bruins in scoring, although he’s seen a diminished role as the calendar shifted to December. Head coach Jim Montgomery has made Poitras a healthy scratch in two of the last five games after playing in all of Boston’s first 24 contests.

Still, given how well he fits into the Boston lineup, Poitras is expected to return to the Bruins after the tournament ends instead of being loaned out to his junior team, the OHL’s Guelph Storm. He’s averaged 14:06 per game this season for Boston, ranking seventh among their forwards and solidly positioning him in a top-nine role.

Assuming Canada advances to the medal games, Poitras will miss the Bruins’ next eight games at a minimum. The tournament wraps up on January 5, 2024, making him doubtful for the Bruins’ game against the Lightning on January 6, meaning at least a nine-game absence is most likely.

Boston Bruins Reassign Jesper Boqvist

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The Boston Bruins have reassigned forward Jesper Boqvist to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Boqvist was originally recalled by the team on December 12th.

The team also reassigned defenseman Ian Mitchell to Providence, although Mitchell’s transactions have been of a somewhat different nature as the defenseman has largely operated as Boston’s spare blueliner and has only actually played in two AHL games this season.

Boqvist, 25, is one of the Bruins’ top depth forwards this season. He’s so far played in 25 games at the AHL level for the Providence Bruins, and scored 14 points. Boqvist dressed for one NHL game during this call-up, skating 4:47 in Boston’s Friday victory over the New York Islanders.

An experienced NHLer with nearly 200 games played, Boqvist will now return to Providence and resume his important role there. The AHL’s Bruins play at 4pm today and currently sit fourth in the AHL’s Atlantic Division with a 13-9-4 record.

The Bruins had a full 23-man roster before these transactions, Now, with these two reassignments, Boston has cleared two spots on its roster, though the club won’t be banking cap space for future use as both Derek Forbort and Milan Lucic are currently on long-term injured reserve.

Two Paper Transactions Involving Mitchell

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  • The Bruins made a pair of paper transactions, assigning and subsequently recalling defenseman Ian Mitchell, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 24-year-old was brought up on an emergency recall back on December 5th but has played just twice since.  The paper moves may have been simply to stall his waiver clock by a day; after a player clears waivers, he’s exempt until he plays in 10 games or has been on an NHL roster for 30 days.

Boston Bruins Place Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha On Injured Reserve

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The Boston Bruins have announced several roster transactions: defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward Pavel Zacha have been placed on injured reserve, while forward Patrick Brown has been recalled from the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Defenseman Parker Wotherspoon has also been recalled, with his recall under an emergency designation.

McAvoy remains out with an upper-body injury, and his status was last classified as day-to-day. He has not played since December 7th. Zacha has not played since leaving the team’s December 9th contest against the Arizona Coyotes, and he was last reported as day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

Both Zacha and McAvoy are crucially important players for the Bruins. McAvoy is the club’s best defenseman, averaging 24:09 time-on-ice per game, the most on the team. Zacha is usually the Bruins’ top center, and he averages the most ice time per night of any Bruins pivot, including time on both special teams units.

In Zacha’s place, the team has recalled Brown, a veteran of nearly 150 NHL games. The versatile 31-year-old undrafted forward can play both center and wing and 55.8% faceoff win percentage in the NHL. He’s split time this season between Providence and Boston, skating in six games at the AHL level and eight in the NHL.

Wotherspoon, 26, is a left-shot defenseman and an established veteran in the AHL. He’s skated in over 300 AHL games and has 15 total NHL games on his resume. He’s played in three games for the Bruins so far this season, scoring one assist.

Jakub Zbořil Clears Waivers

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12/14/23: Zbořil was not claimed off of waivers, which means he will remain in Providence for the time being.

12/13/23 1:51 p.m.: Zbořil’s waiver placement is not for the purposes of contract termination, reports Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. Rather, the Bruins are accommodating a request from Zbořil to be moved to another organization and are seeing if there are any takers out there who will pick up his contract for free.

12/13/23 1:11 p.m.: The Bruins have placed left-shot defenseman Jakub Zbořil on waivers, as reported by Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN. Considering Zbořil has been on assignment to AHL Providence since October 28, the Bruins likely made this move for the purposes of a contract termination.

It is unclear at this time whether a potential contract termination is mutual or for cause. Zbořil, the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft, was scratched in Providence’s last game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on December 9.

The 26-year-old defenseman was the first of Boston’s now-infamous three consecutive first-round selections in 2015. Their selections of Zbořil, Jake DeBrusk and Zachary Senyshyn with the 13th through 15th overall picks were immediately followed by the Islanders selecting Mathew Barzal 16th overall, the Jets selecting Kyle Connor 17th overall and the Senators selecting Thomas Chabot 18th overall. While DeBrusk remains an effective top-nine forward, he’s not the caliber of either Barzal, Connor or Chabot.

Zbořil failed to crack the Bruins roster out of camp this year after doing so in 2020, 2021 and 2022. He went unclaimed on waivers in early October and accepted an assignment to Providence, where he’s logged seven assists and a -5 rating in 19 games, his first AHL time in over three years.

Since making his NHL debut in November 2018, Zbořil has played just 76 games for the Bruins, recording one goal, 15 assists, 16 points, and 135 shots on goal while averaging 15:38 per game. He’s never been able to surpass the role of Boston’s seventh defenseman, playing in a career-high 42 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. His possession numbers have largely been negligible, although in 22 games for the Bruins last season, he posted a Corsi share of 47.6% at even strength – a disappointing figure given the Bruins’ record-setting dominance.

If this is the end of the road for Zbořil in Boston, it ends a disappointing tenure for the organization’s highest-drafted prospect since they selected blueliner Dougie Hamilton ninth overall in 2011. His contract carries a $1.14MM cap hit with $1.3MM due this season in actual salary, making a potential claim over the next 24 hours extremely unlikely. He was slated for unrestricted free agency in the summer.

Assuming Zbořil is indeed headed for contract termination, he would become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow and can sign with any NHL, AHL or European professional team. It would not be surprising to see Zbořil return to his home country of Czechia, where he last suited up for his hometown club HC Kometa Brno in 2020 while the NHL remained on pause due to COVID-19.

Boston Bruins Recall Jesper Boqvist

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The Boston Bruins have filled the open spot on their roster, recalling forward Jesper Boqvist from their AHL affiliate the Providence Bruins.

With Pavel Zacha out day-to-day, this recall gives the Bruins an extra forward option to work with in advance of their game against the New Jersey Devils tomorrow. Boqvist is actually a former Devil himself, as is Zacha.

Boqvist, 25, was the 36th overall pick at the 2017 draft who developed for a few years in Sweden before making it to the North American pro circuit. He actually got into 35 NHL games in his debut year in North America, 2019-20, but only managed four goals and no assists.

From that point, Boqvist would play mostly in the NHL for the Devils, including a career-best year in 2021-22 when he posted 10 goals and 23 points in 56 games. After scoring 10 goals and 21 points in 70 games last season, Boqvist was non-tendered by the Devils.

He ended up signing a league-minimum deal with the Bruins. Although the deal offers him just a $775k cap hit (lower than his cap hit last season), it’s a one-way contract meaning he’s paid that number regardless of if he’s in the NHL or AHL. Seeing as his minors salary was just $70k last year, the deal is an improvement in financial terms for Boqvist.

That’s especially relevant since Boqvist has spent most of the year in the AHL. He has scored 14 points in 25 games for the Providence Bruins, and his only NHL game was a late October loss to the Anaheim Ducks.

Although he’s unlikely to stick around on their NHL roster for very long, this recall provides Boqvist with the opportunity to inch closer to the 200 career NHL games played mark, assuming he can draw into the Bruins’ lineup for tomorrow’s game.

Charlie McAvoy, Pavel Zacha Remain Day-To-Day

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  • Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy didn’t practice today and remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, per Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe. McAvoy missed Saturday’s win over the Coyotes after sustaining the injury in Thursday’s game against the Sabres. This is the second time he’s been held out of the lineup this season, the first being a four-game suspension in early November for a check to the head of Panthers defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. While McAvoy’s 0.81 points per game this season are the best of his career, he’s taken a step back defensively, posting a 51% Corsi share at even strength and a -4 rating, both career lows. Ryan also relays word from Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery that center Pavel Zacha remains day-to-day with an upper-body injury, and he, along with McAvoy, is questionable for Wednesday’s contest against his former team, the Devils. New Jersey’s sixth-overall pick in 2015, Zacha was sent to the Bruins in a one-for-one swap for Erik Haula in July 2022 and has since assumed a top-six role, posting 76 points in 108 games over the past two seasons while averaging 16:37 per game. Zacha took just eight shifts in Saturday’s game against the Coyotes before exiting.

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