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Bruins Activate Taylor Hall From LTIR, Place Two Players On LTIR

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The Bruins will be welcoming back a key forward tonight against New Jersey as the team announced that winger Taylor Hall has been activated from LTIR.  To create the cap space to do so, Boston transferred winger Nick Foligno and defenseman Derek Forbort on LTIR while assigning center Oskar Steen to AHL Providence.

Hall has been out for more than a month with a lower-body injury.  The injury occurred just days before the trade deadline; his LTIR placement created the cap space for them to go add Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit to further deepen their roster.  Hall isn’t the Hart Trophy-winning player he once was but the 31-year-old has been a capable secondary scorer for the Bruins this season, picking up 16 goals and 20 assists in 58 games.

The placements of Foligno and Forbort on LTIR shouldn’t be any cause for concern.  The team remains hopeful that Foligno will be available at some point in the first round while Forbort had been ruled out for the rest of the season nearly three weeks ago and could be back at some point in the postseason.  Neither player has suffered a setback and these moves were strictly for cap purposes.  There is no cap in the playoffs so when Foligno and Forbort are able to return, they will be eligible to play.

As for Steen, he has been shuffled to and from the minors quite a bit recently; this is his third demotion in the last two weeks.  The 25-year-old has played in three games with the big club this season, picking up a goal.  Steen has spent most of the year with Providence, tallying 14 goals and 17 assists in 63 contests and is likely to be one of the first recall options should someone else get injured in the coming days.

Garnet Hathaway Not Thinking About Possibility Of Re-Signing With Bruins

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  • While Bruins winger Garnet Hathaway is fitting in well with his new team, he told Boston Hockey Now’s Joe Haggerty that he hasn’t given any thought yet about potentially extending with Boston beyond this season. The 31-year-old has five points and 62 hits in 21 games since being acquired from Washington in February and is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.  For now, Hathaway is focusing on “short-term thinking” with Boston set to enter the playoffs as the top seed.

Boston Bruins Issue Injury Updates

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Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery provided updates today on the injury status of key players Charlie McAvoy, David Krejci, and Taylor Hall ahead of the team’s upcoming weekend games. McAvoy and Krejci are listed as day-to-day, with Krejci being labeled as “doubtful” for their upcoming games while Hall remains a “possibility” to play.

The Bruins, who have already clinched the Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best regular season record and recorded their 61st win last night, are the second-highest-scoring team in the league and have secured home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs. While the availability of these players may not impact the team’s regular season standings, their contributions in the upcoming playoffs (or lack thereof) will undoubtedly be critical.

McAvoy left last night’s win against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an upper-body injury and did not return. After sustaining the injury in an accidental collision with teammate Patrice Bergeron, however, Montgomery said postgame that he was removed for precautionary reasons. In all likelihood, McAvoy’s playoff ability will not be impacted, and with nothing left to play for, Boston will hold him out of the lineup to ensure he’s as close to 100% as possible when the puck drops on Game 1 of their First Round series.

Krejci has been a critical contributor after his one-year absence from the team, scoring 56 points in 70 games this season, but his lingering absence from the lineup is becoming concerning. Krejci hasn’t suited up since April 1, sidelined for the past two games with a lower-body injury. It’s unclear whether Krejci’s designation for the weekend’s game is precautionary or if his injury is significant enough to truly keep him out of action.

Montgomery’s update on Hall comes after he practiced in a regular jersey for the first time two days ago since sustaining a lower-body injury over a month ago. With Pavel Zacha’s versatility allowing Boston to shift him to center on the second line, Hall’s impending return could quickly help replace any offense lost by Krejci’s absence.

Boston Bruins Recall Oskar Steen

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The Boston Bruins have recalled Oskar Steen under emergency conditions ahead of their game tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’ll serve as some insurance for Taylor Hall and David Krejci, both out for now.

Head coach Jim Montgomery explained this morning that Hall is still not cleared to play, and that Krejci will miss tonight’s game. Steen was not in the group that Montgomery announced, so he could be in the press box unless someone else misses action unexpectedly.

There’s not much for the Bruins to play for right now after hitting the 60-win mark and locking up top seed weeks (months?) ago. Not much, except for a chance to go down as the best regular season team of all time. The 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning both won 62 games, a mark within reach given Boston’s five remaining games.

The 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens might have something to say about the claim, however, given their .825 winning percentage, a number the Bruins can’t quite match even if they run the table. Either way, some history can be made over the last few weeks, even if it’s just playoff prep for Boston at this point.

David Krejci Questionable For Tomorrow's Game

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  • Boston Bruins forward David Krejci is questionable to play in tomorrow’s matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, per The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa. Krejci left today’s practice early and did not play in the team’s Sunday win against the Blues, held out with a lower-body injury. The veteran playmaker has 56 points in 70 games during his return campaign to North America.

Taylor Hall Practices In Regular Jersey

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Boston Bruins winger Taylor Hall practiced on Wednesday and wore a regular jersey for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury in late February. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa tweeted the news, which is a positive sign for the team as they gear up for the playoffs.

Hall has been an integral part of the Bruins’ depth scoring since being acquired in an April 2021 trade with the Buffalo Sabres. He has scored 16 goals and added 20 assists in 58 games this year, giving Boston a skilled option far down the lineup, often in a third-line role. With quite literally nothing left to play for until the playoffs begin on April 17, the Bruins are likely hoping to get Hall back into game action for at least one or two matchups before the postseason commences. They’ll need to perform some salary cap gymnastics to do so, however, with the team currently using Hall’s $6MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve to remain cap-compliant.

Minor Moves: Blue Jackets, Steen, Sharks

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The Columbus Blue Jackets announced Monday that they’ve added goaltender Jet Greaves on emergency recall from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters, assigning goaltender Jon Gillies to Cleveland in a corresponding move. Additionally, center Justin Richards has been assigned to Cleveland.

The move to swap Greaves and Gillies comes after Gillies won his Columbus debut last night, stopping 19 of 22 shots in an overtime win. Greaves has been recalled to Columbus on multiple occasions this season but has still yet to appear in his first NHL game. With the end of the season approaching, Columbus will continue to rotate goalies between the NHL and AHL to give everyone playing time, especially with Elvis Merzlikins sidelined with a lower-body injury. The 25-year-old Richards was returned to Cleveland after registering an assist while playing in the team’s last two games.

  • The Boston Bruins announced today that forward Oskar Steen has been assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate in Providence. Steen, 25, has recorded a goal in two appearances for the Bruins this season, both coming within the last few weeks. The move is likely a sign that either David Krejci is ready to return from a lower-body injury or the team plans on putting Patrice Bergeron back in the lineup after taking some time for load management.
  • The San Jose Sharks have announced that forwards Kyle Criscuolo and Daniil Gushchin have been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. Criscuolo, 30, scored his first NHL goal in his first appearance for the Sharks over the weekend, while Gushchin, 21, also scored his first NHL goal, coming in his NHL debut. Gushchin has had a productive first professional season in the minors after being drafted 76th overall in 2020.

Boston Bruins Extend ECHL Affiliation Agreement

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The Boston Bruins announced via a team release Monday morning that the team has signed a two-year extension of their affiliation agreement with the ECHL’s Maine Mariners. The move locks in some organizational stability and will make Maine the team’s longest-tenured ECHL affiliate since a five-year partnership with the Atlanta Gladiators from 2015 to 2020.

While it’s a rare occurrence nowadays for NHL teams to send skaters multiple levels down to the ECHL, it remains a viable and well-tracked development path for netminders to get heavy workloads as they graduate from junior or college programs. The Bruins currently have one prospect under NHL contract assigned to Maine: 23-year-old netminder Michael DiPietro, acquired from Vancouver earlier this season.

It’s also an impactful choice for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins, who make transactions with the ECHL much more regularly. The newly-minted general manager of Providence, Evan Gold, gave a statement on the extension:

We are thrilled to extend our affiliation agreement with the Maine Mariners. The collaboration between Boston, Providence and Maine has been instrumental in helping our prospects improve not only their hockey skillsets on the ice, but also their work ethic and approach to becoming professionals off the ice. We are excited to continue to partner with the Mariners’ coaching staff and front office as we strive to provide the best development opportunities for our players.

For Boston, the extension keeps its entire professional development system locked within New England, with its minor-league affiliates nearby.

The affiliation agreement, previously set to expire after this season, will now last through the 2024-25 campaign.

Patrice Bergeron To Miss Next Game

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Matt Porter of the Boston Globe reports that Boston Bruins’ captain Patrice Bergeron will not play in tomorrow’s game against the St.Louis Blues. Bruin’s head coach Jim Montgomery shares that Bergeron is dealing with both lower and upper-body “issues”.

As the Bruins continue on one of, if not the all-time best, regular seasons of all time, Bergeron has continued to be an important piece of the puzzle. Although his scoring is technically down this season, the Bruins center has put up 57 points in 74 games. Not only has Bergeron continued his above-average point production, but he has also still played extremely well on the defensive side of the puck. On a three-year stretch of having more takeaways than giveaways, the veteran center has 62 and 52, respectively.

Capping off a historic season, the Bruins will only play two teams within the playoff picture out of their remaining six games. Record books aside, the team has an important job to do come playoff time, and having a rested Bergeron will be a major component in the team realizing that goal.

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Optimism That Nick Foligno Will Be Back For The Playoffs

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  • There is some optimism that Bruins winger Nick Foligno should be ready to return for the playoffs, notes Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch (Twitter link). The 35-year-old has missed the last month due to a lower-body injury and is currently on injured reserve but not LTIR.  Foligno has had a bit of a bounce-back campaign, notching 10 goals and 16 assists in 60 games after recording just two goals and 11 helpers in 64 contests in 2021-22.

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