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Boston Bruins Sign Mike Callahan

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The Boston Bruins have signed Mike Callahan to a two-year entry-level contract, one that will start in the 2022-23 season. The deal comes with an NHL cap hit of $883,750 for the former Arizona Coyotes prospect. The Bruins acquired Callahan’s rights last month for a seventh-round pick, suggesting that either Arizona had decided they wouldn’t sign him by this summer’s deadline, or that Callahan himself had indicated that he wouldn’t be signing with them.

Callahan, 22, is coming off four years at Providence College, meaning he won’t have much of a commute to his next team. Born in Franklin, Massachusetts, he’ll certainly be familiar with both the NHL Bruins and the Providence Bruins, where he’ll likely start his professional career. Serving as the captain in three of four years, Callahan recorded 66 points in a 138-game NCAA career.

The Bruins, rumored to be in the mix for several trade deadline targets, could use an influx of talent from the college ranks, especially on defense. While Callahan still has a long way to go before he is an NHL contributor, the first step is now behind him, and he has a two-year deal to show he has what it takes to climb the organizational ladder. With time still remaining in the AHL season, a tryout contract could get him into the Providence lineup before long.

Matt Grzelcyk To Return Versus Arizona

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  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk will return tonight against Arizona after missing the last two games – one due to an upper-body injury and the other to illness. The 28-year-old sits second in scoring among Boston defenders with 19 points in 51 games.  Jack Ahcan, who scored his first career NHL goal while taking Grzelcyk’s place in the lineup, will be a healthy scratch.

Trade Deadline Primer: Boston Bruins

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As the calendar turns to March, the trade deadline is inching closer. Where does each team stand and what moves should they be looking to make?  We continue our look around the league with the Boston Bruins.

The Boston Bruins have learned the hard way this year that every player has an expiration date. The sudden departure of David Krejci to Europe this summer and the failed comeback attempt of Tuukka Rask removed two of the team’s core players, despite both still performing at an elite level just last season. It left only two names remaining from their 2011 Stanley Cup roster: Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand. While both are still at the top of their games, there is no way for the club to know just how long that might last. Bergeron and Marchand have been back to two Cups since 2011, but a second title has eluded them and the chances to win it all one more time are running out.

Locked into a playoff spot in the East – albeit likely a wild card spot – the Bruins can’t waste an opportunity to provide these veteran stars with another shot at a championship. With considerable salary cap flexibility, especially compared to most other contenders, and a full collection of draft picks, Boston looks primed to make some noise. However, they will also try to keep an eye on the future and protect what few blue-chip prospects they have. Can they make a big enough move to win a Stanley Cup this season without mortgaging the future?

Record

32-17-4 (.642), fourth in Atlantic Division

Deadline Status

Buyer

Deadline Cap Space

$3,357,753 today, $5,036,630 in full-season space, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used per CapFriendly

Upcoming Draft Picks

2022: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, CGY 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th
2023: BOS 1st, BOS 2nd, BOS 3rd, BOS 4th, BOS 5th, BOS 6th, BOS 7th

Trade Chips

The most obvious trade chip for the Bruins is forward Jake DeBrusk. DeBrusk formally requested a trade from Boston earlier this season and by all accounts, that request still stands. While a slow start coming off a down year in 2020-21 didn’t inspire the bidding war that the Bruins might have hoped for, the status quo is beginning to shift. DeBrusk has been red hot of late and potential suitors who were previously hesitant of acquiring DeBrusk given his lofty qualifying offer may be rethinking their position or at least looking to get creative.

Of course, DeBrusk’s strong play in recent weeks could also force the Bruins to change their approach to the trade request as well. Boston is under no obligation to honor the request in a given time period and could be looking to play out the year with DeBrusk while he is finding success. If he continues to score, the Bruins could still trade his restricted free agent rights or perhaps even re-sign him if the relationship has improved. If DeBrusk cools off, as he has been known to do, the team could always let him walk, essentially treating him as an internal rental. If DeBrusk is moved before the deadline, the Bruins will have to immediately replace him with another top-six winger anyhow.

The Bruins do not need to move DeBrusk to accomplish their goals at the deadline. With a full complement of draft picks (thanks to the Calgary Flames replacing a missing 2022 third-round pick), the team can package picks and prospects to acquire help. Which picks and prospects they are willing to part with will ultimately determine who lands in Boston. With a shallow system when it comes to elite young talent, top prospects Fabian Lysell and Mason Lohrei seem safe, but may not be entirely off the table.

More likely to move are some of the Bruins’ older, NHL-ready prospects. The Bruins have been able to showcase some promising pro talent this season in forwards Jack Studnicka and Oskar Steen and defenseman Urho Vaakanainen. The team would normally not be in any hurry to move them, but face an impending roster crunch next season when all three become eligible for waivers. If the team won’t have the roster space to keep them all safely in the NHL next year, it could make the trio more susceptible to being traded this year. Of course, the alternative would be to move some of those young players who they could replace. Injured defenseman Jakub Zboril was playing well before he was sidelined and will be in line for a roster spot next year as well if still in the organization. Or could the affordable Connor Clifton instead be on the move, allowing Vaakanainen and Zboril to play in Boston next year? Upfront, if Studnicka and Steen have been prioritized for roster spots next year, could Trent Frederic instead be the odd man out?

Though unlikely to make much of a difference, it is worth noting that DeBrusk is not the only Bruin to have requested a trade. Fellow 2015 first-rounder Zach Senyshyn would also like a fresh start and it would not be surprising if he is dealt at the deadline as a minor piece in a package. The speedy, two-way winger has admittedly not received much NHL opportunity, but also hasn’t done enough to earn it.

Others To Watch For: F John Beecher, F Jakub Lauko, F Quinn Olson, D Jack Ahcan, D Victor Berglund

Team Needs

1) Top-Four Defenseman

The Bruins believed that by re-signing last year’s deadline addition Mike Reilly and adding Derek Forbort to a defense corps that already had Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Matt Grzelcyk they would be in good shape on the blue line this season. While the early returns suggested the same, especially with Zboril also impressing, as the season has worn on the defense has become the main point of concern for this Bruins team. Zboril is now out for the season, Vaakanainen is also sidelined, and Clifton has struggled in a regular role. At the very least, the Bruins need to add a more reliable option for the right side of their third pair. However, the team should aim higher to take some pressure off of McAvoy, who is playing huge minutes and in all special teams situations and is the only blueliner regularly contributing on offense. A veteran top-four defenseman that can produce and eat minutes would allow the Bruins to shift other defensemen down the lineup to build a deeper, more reliable starting group. The team could even look to add both a starter and additional depth option on the blue line.

2) Top-Six Right Wing

If DeBrusk is in fact traded, this becomes the Bruins’ biggest need – if not already addressed in the DeBrusk return. Boston has found great chemistry in its current second and third lines of Taylor Hall–Erik Haula–David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic–Charlie Coyle–Craig Smith. However, with Pastrnak and Smith playing lower in the lineup, a hole was created beside Bergeron and Marchand on the top line. DeBrusk took the job by default and has taken advantage, but his previous struggles on his offside and with consistency are a concern. If the team opts to sell high on DeBrusk, they will need a new right-wing for the top line. Even if DeBrusk is not traded, it still would not be a bad idea to add some security with a depth scorer. Former Bruin Phil Kessel is one name that has been linked to Boston.

3) Long-Term Top-Six Center or Top Pair Defenseman

If the Bruins decide to go all out at the deadline and address long-term needs rather than just short-term solutions, a young, left-handed defenseman and a proven second-line center are the organization’s most glaring holes. As previously noted, McAvoy needs a long-term defense partner. Perhaps even more pressing though is the depth down the middle, where there is no heir apparent to the aging Bergeron with Coyle and Haula limited in their ability and prospects such as Studnicka, Frederic, and Beecher yet to show top-six upside. The question of course is whether Boston wants to fill these gaps via trade at great cost to their pipeline or if they will instead wait for the free agent market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Latest On Jake DeBrusk

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After a challenging 2020-2021 season, Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk requested to be traded from the team. The team acknowledged his request, but since then there has been seemingly little progress towards a resolution of the issue. That lack of progress should not be confused with a retraction of the request, though. DeBrusk still desires a trade from the Bruins, and as Pierre LeBrun of TSN explains, DeBrusk’s camp is “willing to work on an extension to help facilitate a deal” so that the player can be traded to another team. For an acquiring team to retain an unextended DeBrusk’s rights beyond this season, they would have to issue him a qualifying offer worth $4.41MM against the cap. LeBrun notes that “a lot of teams are concerned” about that figure, which could explain why DeBrusk remains a Bruin several months after his request to be traded became public.

Looking at the situation from Boston’s perspective, it is clear that DeBrusk is in the middle of a bounce-back season, as was cemented by a hat trick against the Los Angeles Kings. He has 14 goals and 24 points in 48 games, which is a 24-goal, 41-point pace, production that is more in line with his past seasons. DeBrusk’s re-emergence as a legitimate scoring threat, especially recently, should in theory help him secure a trade, but the looming trade deadline complicates things. The Bruins are currently solidly in place in the Eastern Conference’s first wild card playoff spot, and taking away DeBrusk’s production as the team intends on competing for a Stanley Cup would not be ideal. That being said, one wonders if keeping a player who wants out on a team with sky-high aspirations is just as problematic. Moreover, there is the opportunity a DeBrusk trade would hypothetically provide the Bruins. Moving DeBrusk could help Boston target a replacement forward from the trade market, giving them more assets to trade and more cap space to work with. The team knows DeBrusk doesn’t want to be a Bruin, so perhaps a DeBrusk trade could go hand-in-hand with Boston acquiring a forward to replace him.

For an acquiring team, DeBrusk represents an interesting opportunity as well as a bit of a risk. On one hand, there are a lot of things to DeBrusk that make him an attractive trade target. He has flirted with scoring 30 goals before and is still only 25 years old. Given his recent inconsistency, he is likely to cost under $4MM on an extension, and is, according to LeBrun, willing to negotiate an extension with a team that acquires him. So any team can look at DeBrusk and see a potential 30-goal-scorer that they can lock into a bargain contract. But on the flip side of that, DeBrusk’s 27-goal-season was his sophomore campaign in 2018-19, and since then he has struggled to match that level of production. His bouts of inconsistency and inability to truly seize a top-six spot in Boston are red flags, and with a hefty $4.41MM price tag attached on a qualifying offer, what happens if he struggles to transition to a new team? DeBrusk is a difficult player to fully get a grip on, so he could be a bit of a leap of faith for any team that trades for him. But the upside is definitely there.

Compared to other options on the trade market, DeBrusk is a riskier proposition. As previously mentioned, his inability to cement himself as a reliable NHL scorer makes him more of a lottery ticket than proven veteran scorers such as Phil Kessel. But DeBrusk is younger, offers more long-term viability, and has the upside to be a multi-year fixture in a team’s top-six. A team acquiring DeBrusk would likely be in a different place in their competitive timeline than a team acquiring Kessel, because DeBrusk’s value is more theoretical, more long-term, while Kessel or other veteran wingers would in all likelihood provide a more immediate boost.

Interestingly, DeBrusk is not the only Bruins 2015 first-round pick to request a trade from the organization. Winger Zachary Senyshyn, the player the Bruins picked immediately after DeBrusk, also filed a trade request earlier this season. While DeBrusk may be viewed as a disappointment in the eyes of some observers in Boston, Senyshyn has been undoubtedly the more disappointing pick for the Bruins. Senyshyn has only appeared in 14 career NHL games and has a single goal to his name. With Senyshyn and DeBrusk requesting trades from the organization, it is clear that the team’s long-term plans for their offense have shifted away from those two former top picks. The situation with the two of them is definitely one to keep an eye on, especially as the trade deadline gets closer and closer.

Bruins Acquire Rights To Michael Callahan

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The Bruins have added some prospect depth, acquiring the rights to blueliner Michael Callahan from Arizona in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2024.  Both teams have announced the trade.

The 22-year-old was a fifth-round pick of the Coyotes (142nd overall) back in 2018 and is in his fourth and final season with Providence of the NCAA.  Callahan is in his third season as captain of the Friars but is having a quieter season offensively with three goals and 11 assists in 34 games.  By comparison, he had 28 points in 34 contests two years ago.  Over his four years with Providence, he has 13 goals and 53 helpers in 134 games.

This move suggests that Arizona either didn’t want to sign Callahan by the August 15th deadline or the blueliner had indicated he didn’t want to sign with them.  By doing this, GM Bill Armstrong recoups a draft pick, albeit one that’s two rounds lower than the one that he was drafted in.  Meanwhile, Boston believes they can sign the Massachusetts native and if they can, that’s a low price to pay for a prospect defender.

Brandon Carlo Questionable After Taking Skate Blade To The Fact

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  • The Bruins announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Brandon Carlo is listed as questionable for tonight. He took a skate blade to the face in the morning skate from goaltender Linus Ullmark.  Boston has seven defensemen on their active roster so they don’t need to make a roster move to bring someone up as insurance in case Carlo is unable to suit up.

NHL Upholds Brad Marchand’s Suspension

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NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has decided to uphold the six-game suspension of Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand, releasing a 13-page ruling today. Marchand can now choose to appeal to a neutral arbitrator, though since he has already served four of the six games and will have finished the suspension by Monday, it would essentially only be to recoup some of the salary he has lost in this process.

In his ruling, Bettman states:

Finally, in reaching my conclusions I have given careful consideration to Mr. Marchand’s testimony concerning his efforts to control his emotions in order to excel as an impact player who plays aggressively, but within the rules. I believe that he has already made significant strides towards achieving this goal. Unfortunately, however, Mr. Marchand’s behavior and lack of judgment in respect of these incidents did not meet acceptable NHL standards. He created a distraction which reflected poorly on himself, on his team and on the League as a whole, and as such, I find he also deserves the penalty he received. Having said that, I encourage Mr. Marchand to reflect on this experience and to use it positively in furtherance of his efforts to refine and improve his on-ice image and game for everyone’s benefit.

In their defense of Marchand, the NHLPA tried to compare this incident to one in 2019 when Milan Lucic was given a two-game suspension for punching Kole Sherwood, one in 2019 when Joe Thornton was not given any supplementary discipline for punching Petr Mrazek, and one in 2019 when Radko Gudas received a two-game suspension for high-sticking Nikita Kucherov. All three were deconstructed by Bettman, with Marchand’s lengthy disciplinary history being one of the major factors to prove they were dissimilar.

Notably, it also explains that Marchand was being suspended for both the punch and the high-stick, leading to the six-game ban when combined with his history. The Bruins forward has now been suspended eight times and fined four times for physical fouls in his NHL career. Bettman explains just how serious this history is:

No active player has been suspended more times than Mr. Marchand; this is his eighth suspension. In addition, he has been fined four times for physical fouls. Although the on-ice penalty calls that resulted in supplementary discipline have varied in their specifics, all have involved serious violations, including elbowing, slew footing, clipping, roughing, spearing, cross-checking and (now) high sticking. It is, to say the least, an unenviable record. And (again), to make matters worse, Mr. Marchand’s most recent suspension prior to this one occurred less than three months ago, when he was suspended for three games for slew footing Vancouver Canucks player Oliver Ekman-Larsson on November 28, 2021.

An appeal to a neutral arbitrator would almost certainly take more than three days, meaning Marchand will be out for the next two matches regardless of what happens next. If he does go through with it and it is eventually reduced, it would provide the Bruins forward with two benefits. One, he would win back some of the money he has forfeited with this suspension, and two, the suspension would–while still on his record–appear as a shorter sentence.

Minor Transactions: 02/16/22

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With NHL action ramping up as the trade deadline approaches in just over a month and the Olympic tournament ongoing, it would seem to be an odd time for much other notable news around hockey. Yet, there has actually been a flurry of recent action surrounding players and teams familiar to NHL fans:

  • A busy year for veteran defenseman Eric Gelinas continues. Gelinas initially signed with the Carolina Hurricanes this past offseason following an outstanding 2020-21 campaign in Sweden with Rogle BK. However, when it became clear that he was buried on the ’Canes depth chart and would be stuck with the AHL’s Chicago Wolves for the year, Gelinas’ contract was terminated in late November and he returned to Rogle. However, this was only a short-term pact and Gelinas signed a new contract for the remainder of the SHL season with Djurgardens IF last week. Now he’s on the move again – at least in a future sense. A quirk of the European league structures, Gelinas has in fact signed a two-year deal with SC Bern of the Swiss National League, but one that does not start until next season. Gelinas will finish the season in Sweden before making the jump to Switzerland. The 30-year-old defenseman has nearly 200 games of NHL experience and has found success in a number of European leagues, making him a highly-desirable asset that both Djurgardens and Bern are extremely excited to have under contract.
  • Matt Quercia has finally had enough of the college game. The senior forward has decided to leave Michigan Tech in the middle of the season to sign his first pro contract, inking a deal with the ECHL’s Wheeling Nailers according to the league’s transactions register. Quercia was in his first season at Michigan Tech after transferring from Boston University. Overshadowed with the Terriers, Quercia hoped he might find a bigger role with the Huskies. Instead, he had just four points in 14 games and Michigan Tech, one of the surprises of the season with a current national rank of No. 14, has found success without much help from the transfer. Quercia hopes things will be different in the pro ranks.
  • Quebec native Charles-David Beaudoin is moving on from the AHL’s Laval Rocket. The 28-year-old defenseman has played in just five games with the team this season versus 28 with the ECHL’s Trois-Rivieres Lions and has decided to chase more opportunity elsewhere. Beaudoin has signed with IF Bjorkloven of Sweden’s second tier Allsvenskan for the rest of the season, the team announced. The AHL veteran could return to North America this summer, but likely has a better chance of playing an impact role in Europe, especially if he is not content spending time in the ECHL.
  • A pair of former Calgary Flames teammates are on the move in Europe, going their separate ways after briefly reuniting in the KHL. Emile Poirier, a first-round pick of the Flames in 2013, is joining the aforementioned Gelinas in Djurgardens for the remainder of the season, the team announced. Since leaving North America after the 2019-20 season, Poirier has played in Slovakia and then in the KHL with Latvia’s Dinamo Riga to this point this season, finding success in both places. He now joins a Djurgardens club loading up for the SHL postseason. Hunter Shinkaruk, a 2013 first-rounder himself – selected two spots after Poirier by the Vancouver Canucks, is leaving Dinamo Riga for Sweden as well. He has signed with HV71 of the Allsvenskan, the club announced. Shinkaruk wound up in Calgary in a swap for Markus Granlund and appeared to be on his way to a regular role, but like Poirier ended up stuck in the AHL and left North America during the 2019-20 season. In Poirier and Shinkaruk, Riga has lost two of its top six scorers, but fortunately still has former San Jose Shark Lukas Radil leading the team.
  • The Providence Bruins are bringing back a power forward for another season. The team has announced that former OHL star Justin Brazeau has signed a one-year extension. Brazeau, 24, has mammoth size and the on-ice presence to match in his net front presence and checking ability, but is still a project due to his skating ability. Nevertheless, Brazeau has six goals and two assists in 19 games with Providence this season and ten goals and 20 points in 18 ECHL games, showing that he is still capable of scoring despite some shortcomings in his game. That makes him a worthwhile investment for at least one more season for the Bruins.

Ottawa’s Austin Watson Suspended Two Games

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The NHL Department of Player Safety worked swiftly to hold a hearing with Ottawa Senators forward Austin Watson this morning and have acted just as quickly to hand down a suspension. Following a late, high hit on Boston Bruins’ defenseman Jack Ahcan in the Senators’ Saturday matinee match-up, Watson has received a two-game suspension for interference, Player Safety announced. The league summarized the situation as follows:

Well after the puck is gone and outside the window where a check may be legally finished, Watson delivers a late, high hit that makes significant contact with the head of Ahcan, knocking him to the ice. This is interference… Watson begins his hitting motion well after Ahcan moves the puck… Ahcan has no reason to expect to be hit at this time or in this manner, leaving him particularly vulnerable. In addition to the lateness, what causes this hit to rise to the level of supplemental discipline is the significant head contact on this play, combined with the force of the blow.

When it comes to the length of Watson’s suspension, he certainly did not receive any in-game help from the referees. The officials in Saturday’s game misread the incident completely, giving Watson just a minor penalty for interference for what should have been at least a major penalty. Especially given that the hit occurred in the first period, had Watson suffered a more severe penalty during the game, he may have avoided a second game in his suspension. To add insult to injury, the officials also handed Bruins forward Anton Blidh a roughing penalty for coming to the defense of Ahcan, which canceled out any Boston power play on what should have been an obvious man-up situation.

Conversely, Watson is saved by the fact that Ahcan was not injured on the play. The rookie defenseman returned to the game as the Bruins held on for a shutout win. The severity of an injury plays into suspension determinations and length and – especially in the case of head injuries – the optics can be a powerful contributor.

Watson will feel the impact of the suspension immediately, as he was preparing to suit up for the second of a weekend back-to-back on Sunday with the Senators on the road in Washington. He will also miss a difficult match-up with St. Louis on Tuesday. Watson is not exactly a key contributor for the Senators though; he has just three points and -8 rating in 31 games. His physicality will be missed however.

Brad Marchand Suspended Six Games

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Losing his cool in the final minute of a Tuesday night loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins will cost Boston Bruins forward Brad Marchand six games and nearly half a million dollars. The NHL Department of Player Safety has announced that lengthy suspended for the star winger as a result of “roughing and high-sticking” Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry. Marchand will forfeit $448K of salary as he sits out for two weeks.

The incident in question occurred late in a heated game in which Marchand and Jarry had already had multiple conversations. With time expiring on a frustrated contest in which the Bruins outshot and outchanced the Penguins but could not capitalize, one final comment by Jarry set off Marchand. He punched the netminder in the head, knocking him to the ice. Marchand then fends off a linesman and jabs Jarry in the mask. Marchand received a match penalty and additional minor, but the seven minutes of penalty time was meaningless in the waning seconds of the game. Player Safety had a relatively easy decision to add supplemental discipline and summed up the situation simply:

On this play, Marchand is guilty of two violations that warrant supplemental discipline: roughing and high-sticking. It is important to note that these acts, both the punch to Jarry and the high-stick, were delivered well after the conclusion of play… This was also not a confrontation after the puck is frozen in which a goaltender initiates a physical altercation with an offensive player and is prepared – or should be prepared – for some kind of physical response. We find the totality of this play… unacceptable and warranting supplemental discipline.

Player Safety also specifically cited the CBA’s bylaw on repeat offenders, stating that “players who repeatedly violate league playing rules will be more severely punished for each new violation.” Marchand has a long history with Player Safety (seven suspensions and five fines), but had seemingly cleaned up his game entering this season. However, this is now his second suspension following a three-game ban for slew-footing in November. At the time, that punishment was scrutinized given that others have gotten away with far more without repercussions this season. There is no excuse this time around though; Marchand’s actions were blatant and given his history a suspension was guaranteed.

Marchand continues to be one of more polarizing players in the NHL. The ultimate heel, Marchand is a player that many fans love and many others love to hate. One of the most talented scorers in the league and with a propensity to get under opponents’ skin, Marchand is a player than no team likes to face. They even have to fear him off the ice, as Marchand has recently taken brutally honest shots at both the Carolina Hurricanes and Arizona Coyotes. However, Marchand’s image does not benefit from incidents like this, in which he clearly just lost his head and committed silly penalties that will now cost his team dearly. The Bruins may be comfortably in a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, but as they look to climb out of a wild card spot over the remainder of the season, it doesn’t help that they will be without a top contributor as they take on fellow contenders in the Hurricanes, Rangers, and Avalanche during Marchand’s six-game ban.

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