With Boston defenseman Adam McQuaid nearing a return to the lineup, the Bruins will soon have a decision to make on their back end. In order to make the roster and salary cap room to activate him off LTIR, the team will have to make a move. On the surface, it would appear that blueliner Matt Grzelcyk, who is on recall from the minors, would be the logical one to go back down but Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe argues that the 23-year-old has done enough to not only stay on the NHL roster but stay in the lineup when McQuaid gets the green light to suit up and suggests that going with seven rearguards may be the way to go for the time being.
Fortunately for the Bruins, they have several waiver-exempt forwards on the active roster which gives them some options to choose from but with McQuaid nearly ready to play, they’ll have to make a decision in the very near future.
Elsewhere in the Atlantic:
- Although the Red Wings have come crashing down as of late, Ted Kulfan of the Detroit News believes it’s unlikely that a midseason coaching change is on the horizon. Instead, he expects the team to wait until after the season and make a decision on Jeff Blashill’s fate at that time as well as GM Ken Holland. Holland’s contract is up at the end of the season so it may make more sense to make a decision on both their futures at the same time once April rolls around.
- Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson is coming off a stellar performance on Saturday against Montreal and according to head coach Guy Boucher, he is right on target with their expectations when it comes to his recovery from offseason foot surgery. He told Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch that they felt Karlsson wouldn’t be fully recovered until around the holiday break given the nature of the procedure and the fact he basically jumped into games with no training camp and minimal practice. If Ottawa is to play themselves back into the postseason hunt, they’ll need their top blueliner at his best and it appears he’s getting closer to being just that.