Agent Change For Poitras
- Bruins center Matthew Poitras has changed agents, TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link). After being represented previously by John Walters from The Will Sports Group, the 21-year-old has signed with Newport’s Wade Arnott. Poitras has played in 33 games with Boston in each of the last two seasons but has played exclusively with AHL Providence in 2025-26. So far, he has six goals and 14 assists in 33 games in the minors. This is the final season of his entry-level deal and he will be a restricted free agent without arbitration rights next summer.
Bruins Among Finalists For Rasmus Andersson
Jan. 17th: According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, Andersson’s market has been narrowed down to four teams: two in the Eastern Conference and two in the Western Conference. Dreger listed the Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights as two of them, but didn’t specify the other two. Unless significant traction is made within the next few hours, Dreger expects Andersson to play for the Flames tonight.
Anaheim Ducks Acquire Jeffrey Viel
According to a team announcement, the Boston Bruins have traded bottom-six forward Jeffrey Viel to the Anaheim Ducks for a conditional 2026 fourth-round pick. The Ducks originally had the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers’ fourth-round picks for the upcoming draft, and the highest one will go to Boston.
Viel, 28, had spent the last two years in the Bruins organization after signing a two-year, $1.55MM contract with the team ahead of the 2024-25 season. He spent much of last season with the AHL’s Providence Bruins, scoring 13 goals and 37 points in 68 games with a +14 rating. Additionally, he was again one of the most penalized forwards in the league, finishing with 148 PIMs.
That’s been the status quo for Viel throughout his professional career. Since the 2018-19 campaign, with the AHL’s San Jose Barracuda, Viel has recorded 75 goals and 170 points in 349 AHL games with 688 PIMs. It averages out to nearly one minor penalty per game.
Instead of beginning this season in the AHL, Viel cracked Boston’s opening night roster as the team was looking to become more hard-nosed. Still, he’s been a healthy scratch most nights, going scoreless across 10 games, averaging 9:30 of ice time per game.
It’ll be interesting to see how the Ducks utilize Viel in their lineup, if at all. The team already has a comparable forward in Ross Johnston, though Johnston offers more offensive upside, at least this season. There’s certainly a chance they will send Viel to the AHL’s San Diego Gulls, where he would usurp Travis Howe as the team’s “tough guy,” given that he could also be a reliable secondary scorer.
Meanwhile, the Bruins had an opening on their roster after sending Viel to Orange County. Moving quickly, Boston announced that they’ve recalled defenseman Billy Sweezey from AHL Providence.
Sweezey, a native of Massachusetts, is in his second year with the Bruins organization. He’s already surpassed his scoring totals last year, starting with one goal and 11 points in 34 games to start the year with a +22 rating. Sweezey’s recall is likely linked to the status of Andrew Peeke, who left Boston’s game last night due to a lower-body injury.
Bruins Sign Jonathan Aspirot To Two-Year Extension
The Boston Bruins have signed defenseman Jonathan Aspirot to a two-year, $1.775MM contract extension. Aspirot made his NHL debut at the start of the season. He has since played in 25 games, locking in the 2025-26 season as his rookie year in the NHL. Aspirot has three points, a plus-15, and 17 penalty minutse through those contests.
Aspirot took the long route to the NHL. He went undrafed after three years in the QMJHL but showed off enough shutdown defense to earn an AHL contract with the Belleville Senators in 2019. Aspirot stuck with the AHL Senators for the next four seasons, routinely rivaling 15-to-20 points and a positive plus-minus while rotating through Belleville’s lineup. He seemed to have his pro legs under him after the 2022-23 season, when he recorded 16 points, a plus-four, and 65 penalty minutes in 43 games.
That performance prompted a move to bigger shoes for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers. Aspirot stepped up as a top-four option for the Wranglers and set career-highs in points (33) and penalty minutes (80) through his first 66 games with the club. He continued to make a mark through last season, when he racked up 29 points and 54 penalty minutes in 65 games in Calgary. Once again, his strong showing pushed Aspirot into a bigger role with a new team, this time on a deal with the Providence Bruins signed last summer. Hopes were high for the 6-foot, 212-pound defenseman and he answered the bell, netting three points and four penalty minutes in his first five games with Providence.
That was enough to earn a call-up to the Bruins – only the second NHL call-up of his career, after a call-up to the Flames in 2024 that resulted in no games played. This time, Aspirot made sure the move would stick. He has appeared in 25 of Boston’s 35 games since being recalled and even earned time on a pairing with star defenseman Charlie McAvoy. Aspirot’s career is taking off at the age of 26. Boston will keep that momentum rolling for the undrafted free agent, locking him into a cost-effective deal through the 2027-28 season.
Elias Lindholm Leaves Game With Lower-Body Injury
- Despite putting up a 10-spot on the New York Rangers earlier today, the Boston Bruins had a few higher-level forwards leave relatively early into the contest. In separate announcements, the Bruins shared that Elias Lindholm had exited the contest with a lower-body injury, and Morgan Geekie departed to attend to a family matter. Despite leaving the game with an injury after 12:05 of ice time, Lindholm finished the contest with two assists.
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Boston Bruins Activate Henri Jokiharju
The Boston Bruins announced today that defenseman Henri Jokiharju has been activated off of injured reserve. In a corresponding move, the Bruins placed blueliner Hampus Lindholm on IR.
Per team reporter Belle Fraser, Jokiharju was a full participant in Bruins practice yesterday, indicating that a full return to the lineup was near. Jokiharju has been out since Nov. 28 with an undisclosed injury, an absence that cost him 16 games.
Jokiharju has 25 games played this season and has scored six points. When healthy, he’s Boston’s No. 5 defenseman, 17:23 time on ice per game including around a minute per game on each special teams unit. The 26-year-old is likely to slot into Boston’s second pairing tonight against the Kraken.
Replacing Jokiharju on IR is Lindholm, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury. There hasn’t been much detail provided on Lindholm’s injury, both regarding what the ailment actually is, or what kind of recovery timeline Lindholm faces. But by virtue of being placed on IR today, he’ll miss at least a week.
If Lindholm’s absence proves to be an extended one, the Bruins would be left without one of their most important defensemen. Lindholm is Boston’s No. 2 blueliner behind Charlie McAvoy, averaging 22:10 time on ice per game including second-unit power play duties and first-unit penalty kill deployment.
While he’s still heavily relied-upon by head coach Marco Sturm, Lindholm has had to navigate choppy waters the last few years. He missed most of last season with an injury, and saw his offensive production drop from 53 points in 2022-23 to just 26 in 2023-24. He had 14 points in 34 games this season before his injury. Lindholm is under contract through 2029-30 at a $6.5MM annual cap hit.
Lassi Lehti Generating NHL Interest
According to Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal, netminder for the University of Alaska-Fairbanks, Lassi Lehti is generating interest from some NHL clubs. Divver added that the Boston Bruins are currently scouting the 24-year-old goaltender.
Unlike some other upcoming collegiate free agents, NHL teams likely won’t have to wait until April to entice Lehti to sign. Although the Espoo, Finland native is having a quality campaign, the Nanooks are having a brutal campaign and aren’t expected to qualify for the National tournament, barring an unexpected run.
Still, the Nanooks’ 4-10-1 record has little to do with Lehti. The senior has appeared in 11 of those contests, managing a .921 SV% and 2.59 GAA. Last season, as the team’s backup, Lehti finished with a .924 SV% and 2.04 GAA. Although he was only a backup last season, that’s an impressive 24-game run.
Unfortunately, given the length that it typically takes goaltenders to develop, it may be too little too late for Lehti. He was eligible to be selected in the 2019 NHL Draft, and waited until the 2022-23 NCAA season to begin his collegiate career. Although he’s not considered in the same tier, Lehti is older than Jesper Wallstedt and Yaroslav Askarov, both of whom are already fully entrenched in their NHL careers.
Regardless, if he keeps producing at the same level through the end of the campaign with the University of Alaska, there will likely be a team willing to give him a chance. If he’s set on playing professionally, Lehti could immediately step into the starter’s crease for an ECHL team or serve as a backup with a lower-level AHL team.
Bruins Have Shown Interest In Matias Maccelli
The Bruins are known to be in the market for a winger as they look to gain ground in the Eastern Conference playoff race. According to Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic, re-upping a sentiment Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet had first put out earlier in the month, Maple Leafs lefty Matias Maccelli is another name they’ve checked in on.
Maccelli, 25, has displayed top-six playmaking talent in the past but has seen his production take a significant hit since the beginning of the 2024-25 season. The 2019 fourth-round pick of the Coyotes averaged 44 assists per 82 games through his first two full NHL campaigns, but is averaging just 18 over the last two years with Utah and Toronto.
Overall, Maccelli has 251 big league games on his track record, averaging a 14-33–47 scoring line over a full season. His 0.60 points per game since his fourth-place Calder Trophy finish in 2022-23 ranks 122nd in the league among forwards with at least 200 games. His possession impacts have historically been above average, including a career-high 55.2% Corsi share at 5-on-5 with Utah last year.
After falling out of favor with Mammoth head coach André Tourigny last season, he was flipped to the Leafs in June for a 2027 third-round pick. He was one of multiple reclamation project-type wingers Toronto added in the hopes of being able to replace Mitch Marner‘s lost production by committee. The 5’11” Finn got off to a slow start with one assist through his first six games and never managed to climb up the depth chart, though. He’s been limited to 27 appearances, largely due to a string of scratches that kept him out of the lineup for 10 of 11 contests between Nov. 22 and Dec. 20.
Maccelli has played in five straight since that run of time in the press box, though, and his production has finally begun to spike. He’s averaged 16:03 of ice time during that stretch with four points (one goal, three assists), stapled to John Tavares‘ wing on Toronto’s second line. He’s also seen increased power-play deployment under new man-advantage coach Steve Sullivan, featuring on the top unit in Sunday’s overtime loss to the Red Wings.
Boston’s other known target, Kiefer Sherwood, would be a rental. Maccelli is also on an expiring contract, but would remain under team control as a restricted free agent with arbitration rights. He costs $3.425MM against the cap but is due a $4.11MM qualifying offer as a result of his backloaded contract structure, which includes a $4.25MM base salary for 2025-26. Considering he’s on pace for 39 points this year, that might be a price the Bruins are willing to pay (in addition to the asset(s) required to trade for him), but there’s no guarantee.
Even with Maccelli’s recent spike, the Leafs have continued to slip in the standings – now tied for last in the East – and have been open to moving Maccelli in hopes of clearing up some cap space (and getting out from under his aforementioned QO). His point pace should allow them to recoup the third-round pick they gave up for him but likely not much more than that.
Bruins Activate Jonathan Aspirot
The Bruins welcomed back one of their defensemen to the lineup tonight against Calgary as the team announced that Jonathan Aspirot has been added back to the active roster. More specifically, he was activated off injured reserve. Boston had an open roster spot so no corresponding move needed to be made.
The 26-year-old signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Bruins for the league minimum in Group Six unrestricted free agency, hoping that a new organization could give him a pathway to his first taste of NHL action. While it took a bit of time, he ultimately got that opportunity.
Aspirot cleared waivers back in October and got into five games with AHL Providence. He had a goal and two assists in those outings and three weeks after being sent down, he earned a promotion to Boston and has been with them since.
Aspirot played in 19 games with Boston before the injury, predominantly on their third pairing. In those outings, he had a goal along with 28 blocks and 32 hits while averaging a little over 16 minutes per night of ice time. He had missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury sustained against Winnipeg.
Even with his activation, the Bruins are still without a pair of blueliners. Henri Jokiharju is on IR with an undisclosed injury that has kept him out for a month while Jordan Harris is on long-term injured reserve and has missed more than two months with an ankle injury.
Bruins Activate, Reassign Michael Callahan, Matej Blumel
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.