Johnny Beecher Signs Entry-Level Deal With Bruins
Matt Porter of The Boston Globe reports that the Boston Bruins have signed prospect Johnny Beecher to his three-year, entry-level contract. The deal will carry a cap hit of $925,000.
Beecher, Boston’s 30th overall selection in 2019, was on an AHL tryout with the Providence Bruins after he opted to turn pro. Beecher had just finished his junior season with the University of Michigan, and he tallied five points in nine regular-season games (as well as an assist in two playoff games) down the stretch for Providence.
The New York-born forward had a rough go of things during his college career, as he never hit the 10-goal mark in a single season and never scored more than the 16 points he had his freshman year. The versatile forward does have a large frame at 6’3″ and 209 lbs, but he’ll need to improve his offensive awareness in order to make a meaningful NHL impact with the Bruins.
The contract will take him through to 2024-25.
Boston Bruins Extend Jakub Zboril
Slated to become a group six unrestricted free agent this summer, a former first-round pick has decided to stay with the organization that drafted him. Defenseman Jakub Zboril signed a two-year contract extension with the Boston Bruins this morning, carrying a cap hit of $1.138MM per season.
Zboril, now 25, played just 10 games this season before tearing his ACL in a game against the Nashville Predators on December 2, 2021. The Czech defender played well this season in a bottom-pairing role, notching three assists in 10 games as well.
While Zboril won’t hit the ceiling the team envisioned for him when they drafted him 13th overall in 2015, he has turned into an everyday NHL player. That’s important for the cap-strapped Bruins, who now retain a reliable depth defenseman for a reasonable cap hit with some term. Per CapFriendly, though, the Bruins now have just $2.4MM in cap space entering this offseason with multiple UFAs, including captain Patrice Bergeron. With Zboril locked in now, an indication they view him as a regular next season, expect the Bruins to move on from either Matt Grzelcyk or Mike Reilly via trade. Both are left-shot defensemen who fell out of favor with the Bruins coaching staff near the end of the season.
Zboril will become an unrestricted free agent again in 2024.
Charlie McAvoy, Brendan Smith Earn Fines
The NHL Department of Player Safety has handed out a pair of fines today, sanctioning defensemen Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins and Brendan Smith of the Carolina Hurricanes for violations committed during yesterday’s series-ending contest. Both were fined the maximum allowable amount under the CBA.
McAvoy’s $5,000 fine came for tripping, in an incident where he tripped Hurricanes defenseman Brady Skjei. The incident came at 6:10 of the third period. The Bruins were pressing into Carolina’s end of the ice, looking to create a scoring chance when their possession of the puck ended and Hurricanes forward Jesper Fast cleared the puck down the ice. McAvoy, who was hovering around the area that Fast occupied, knocked Fast down and then went and committed this tripping infraction on Skjei.
Smith’s fine, a $2,000 cost to the player, is for elbowing Bruins’ forward David Pastrnak. Pastrnak retrieved a puck in the corner and curled it around the net, and after the puck had already left Pastrnak’s stick Smith went to engage Pastrnak in a body check. Smith left his feet on the check, his elbow rising to the point of hitting Pastrnak in the head, hence the fine for elbowing. The fine occurred at 1:18 in the third period of yesterday’s game.
Hampus Lindholm To Return For Bruins
- Speaking of defensemen trying to help even a series, Hampus Lindholm will return for the Boston Bruins in game six tonight after missing the last few with an upper-body injury. Lindholm was injured on a hit from Andrei Svechnikov and held out, but told reporters today that he started to feel better quickly afterward and is now ready to go. The trade deadline acquisition is expected to return to the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy and play a ton as the Bruins fight for their season.
Charlie McAvoy Reportedly Clears COVID Protocol, Available For Game 5
In a surprise twist, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reports that Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy is at PNC Arena in Raleigh, likely meaning he’s cleared NHL COVID protocol and could play in tonight’s Game 5 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Kaplan did not go so far as to say that McAvoy would play, however, he will take warmups.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman adds that he understands McAvoy can play if he’s five days out from the onset of virus symptoms, assuming a negative test and medical clearance. Assuming that McAvoy’s symptom onset was last Thursday, he could be cleared to play. However, that assumes McAvoy would’ve first felt symptoms the day prior to Game 3, which he played.
Obviously, if McAvoy can play, it would be a huge boost for the Bruins. They already have all the momentum in the series after winning twice at home to tie the best-of-seven First Round matchup at two games apiece. McAvoy had two assists in Games 1-3 while averaging over 25 minutes per game.
With a re-inforced defense and the strong play of Jeremy Swayman, it seems like the Bruins could end up snatching victory from the jaws of defeat after a pair of blowouts in Games 1 and 2.
Charlie McAvoy Enters COVID Protocol, Will Miss Game Four
In what could ultimately decide the result of their first round series, the Boston Bruins have announced that star defenseman Charlie McAvoy has been placed in the NHL COVID-19 Protocol and will not be available for Sunday’s Game Four match-up with the Carolina Hurricanes.
The news comes as an unforeseen, last-minute change, as head coach Bruce Cassidy told the media no more than an hour earlier that he expected no changes to the lineup in Game Four from Friday’s Game Three. McAvoy’s absence is very much a change in the lineup and one that the Bruins may not be able to withstand. As the Bruins look to even the series at two games apiece, they are now without their entire top pairing, as McAvoy joins Hampus Lindholm on the shelf. The defense pairs will shift upward accordingly, with Matt Grzelcyk and Brandon Carlo playing on the top pair, Game Three hero Derek Forbort and Connor Clifton playing on the second pair, and Josh Brown drawing in to the lineup alongside Mike Reilly on the third pair. It is a much different looking group without McAvoy and Lindholm and they will have their work cut out for them against a high-energy Hurricanes team.
The Bruins have to hope that they can somehow eek out a win in Game Four or at the very least can get McAvoy back for Game Five. Cassidy also stated that Lindholm too could return for Game Five. However, down 3-1 going back to Raleigh will not be ideal even at full strength. McAvoy averaged nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game this season and has been over 25 through three playoff games. That ice time alone will be extremely difficult to make up, but McAvoy also led all Boston defensemen in points, hits, and blocked shots. His absence cannot be understated – the Bruins will need all the luck they can get on Sunday.
Bruins To Decide Whether Or Not To Turn Fabian Lysell Pro This Offseason
- The Bruins will decide this summer whether or not to turn prospect Fabian Lysell pro or not, notes Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe. The 19-year-old winger was drafted out of Sweden so he’s able to play in the minors before turning 20 but Boston decided that the major junior route was the best for him this season as he had 62 points in 53 regular season games with WHL Vancouver and has 15 points in seven playoff contests so far. The 2021 first-rounder can go back to junior next season but the Bruins might prefer testing him at a harder level next season, especially if his postseason dominance continues.
Former Bruins Coach Jay Pandolfo Hired As Boston University Head Coach
- While the Boston Bruins struggle in the First Round against the Carolina Hurricanes, a former coach is getting put in the spotlight today. Longtime NHLer Jay Pandolfo was named as the 13th head coach of the Boston University Terriers today, just one season after he departed the Bruins organization as an assistant coach. Pandolfo was a member of Boston’s coaching staff from 2014-2021, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2019. Now, after one season as the associate head coach at BU, he’ll get the chance to lead the team himself. In Pandolfo’s final season as a player at BU, 1995-96, he torched the college circuit as the team’s captain with 38 goals and 67 points in just 39 games.
Brad Marchand, Derek Forbort Earn Fines
The Boston Bruins are down two games in their first-round series against the Carolina Hurricanes, and now a pair of their players are down a few more dollars. Derek Forbort and Brad Marchand have both been issued $5,000 fines for actions in last night’s game.
Forbort’s incident came early in the third period when he rather recklessly swung his stick toward Teuvo Teravainen, hitting him directly in the face. It was given a four-minute double-minor from the on-ice officials, half of the eight minutes that Forbort would receive on the night in just 16 minutes of ice time. A key penalty killer for the Bruins, he’ll have to keep his stick in check, as a fine will lead the Department of Player Safety to keep a closer eye on his actions moving forward, and result in increased punishments for any further transgressions.
Marchand meanwhile is already under the watchful eye of the DoPS every time he steps on the ice. His fine stems from a slash on Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov after the two exchanged words in the second period. Both Marchand and Kochetkov were given penalties for slashing on the play, though it is Marchand who also receives the fine–likely due in part to his long history with the league’s supplementary discipline process.
Bruins Sign Brett Harrison To AHL ATO
- The Bruins have signed prospect center Brett Harrison to an ATO, reports Mark Divver of the Providence Journal (Twitter link). The 18-year-old was recently eliminated in the OHL playoffs, paving the way for him to play in the minors with Providence in their playoff run. Harrison was a third-round pick of Boston last year (85th overall) and he had a strong season with OHL Oshawa, notching 27 goals and 34 assists in 65 games with the Generals.