- Bruins winger Pat Maroon has skated for three straight days now as he works his way back from back surgery. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe that at this point, it will be his conditioning that determines when he’s cleared to return. Boston picked up Maroon from Minnesota at the trade deadline and will be looking to add his physicality to their fourth line in the near future.
Bruins Rumors
Bruins Can Clinch Playoff Berth Wednesday
- The Bruins can become the second team to clinch a spot in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight by avoiding a regulation loss against the Lightning, per the league. Still in contention for the Atlantic title and the President’s Trophy, the franchise is poised to earn a postseason berth for the eighth consecutive season and for the 15th time in the last 17 years. While not on last season’s record-breaking tear, the retirements of team legends Patrice Bergeron and David Krejčí haven’t thrown the ever-consistent Bruins into complete turmoil, and a 9-0-1 start to the season back in October has helped buoy them throughout the ups and downs of the campaign. A second-place finish behind the Panthers still seems likely, but after coming from behind late last night to defeat Florida 4-3 in regulation, a third division title in the last five years isn’t out of the question. Boston has not missed the playoffs for more than two seasons in a row since the Original Six era.
Morning Notes: Lysell, Quinn, Cumiskey
Michael Derosa of The Hockey News is reporting that one of the Boston Bruins top forward prospects could miss significant time with an injury. 21-year-old Fabian Lysell suffered an apparent upper-body injury on March 23rd after he fell into the boards in a game against the Charlotte Checkers. The 2021 first-round pick has spent the season in the AHL with the Providence Bruins and has heated up recently registering seven assists in his last five games.
Lysell is in his second season of professional hockey and has posted 15 goals and 35 assists in 56 games this year with Providence. The timing of Lysell’s injury is particularly unfortunate as he was making a case for a call-up with his solid numbers this season.
In other morning notes:
- Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News is reporting that Sabres forward Jack Quinn joined the team this morning to take part in practice as a full participant. Quinn had surgery on January 29th for a lower-body injury and was expected to miss eight weeks. The 22-year-old hasn’t played since January 27th and has five goals and seven assists in 17 games this season for the Sabres. The Cobden, Ontario native was expected to take a big step this season but has dealt with multiple injury issues in what has turned into a lost season for him and the Sabres. Buffalo has 10 games remaining this season and currently sits six points behind the Washington Capitals who for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals have 12 games left on the schedule. Quinn did not comment on when he will dress for a game, but based on reports from practice it could happen sooner than later.
- Former Colorado Avalanche defenseman Kyle Cumiskey has reportedly signed a two-year extension with Düsseldorfer EG to continue his career in the DEL. The 37-year-old played 139 career NHL games over parts of six seasons with the Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks and has spent the last four seasons in Germany. The Abbotsford, British Columbia native last saw action in North America during the 2019-20 season when he was a member of the AHL’s Binghamton Devils.
Bruins Sign Riley Duran To Entry-Level Deal
The Bruins have come to terms on a two-year, entry-level contract with center prospect Riley Duran, per a team release. The contract carries a cap hit of $867.5K and will begin next season. Duran, who completed his junior season at Providence College last weekend, will finish the season on a tryout with the Bruins’ AHL club in the same city.
The 22-year-old Duran was drafted by the Bruins in the sixth round of the 2020 draft and had one season remaining of collegiate eligibility before his exclusive signing rights with Boston expired. The 6-foot-2, 181-lb Massachusetts native was selected straight out of high school and spent his post-draft season playing major junior hockey with USHL Youngstown before kicking things off with Providence in 2021-22.
Duran was relatively consistent through his three seasons with the Friars, although his play dropped off slightly in 2023-24. He recorded 55 points in 102 games with the school, a 0.54 points per game average, but produced only 0.46 per game this season (9-7–16 in 35 GP). He was an unexpectedly important piece of the United States contingent at the 2022 World Junior Championship, where he rattled off 2-3–5 in 5 GP en route to a quarterfinal loss.
His ceiling is that of a two-way, third-line center, but he will need some significant seasoning in the AHL before he’s considered for a recall. He’ll be an RFA when his deal expires in 2026.
Bruins Reassign John Beecher
Bruins forward John Beecher is back on the farm with AHL Providence after being reassigned Sunday, per CapFriendly.
The 22-year-old center/winger has spent most of the season in the majors, landing a spot on the opening-night roster and making his NHL debut over four years after Boston selected him with the 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He was designated for the minors for the first time this season on Jan. 20 and remained there through the trade deadline until being recalled on three separate emergency loans earlier this month. He’d been on the NHL roster without reassignment since Mar. 16 after being papered between leagues five times in six days.
Beecher had played in four consecutive contests before being scratched due to illness in Saturday’s 3-2 loss to the Flyers. He scored once on three shots on goal and added an assist and a +1 rating in that timeframe, playing solid bottom-six minutes while averaging 12:28 per game.
He wouldn’t have lasted much longer on the active roster anyway, at least as an emergency recall. Winger James van Riemsdyk returned from an illness that kept him out for most of mid-March against Philadelphia, ending the conditions that required Beecher to have 12 healthy forwards. If the Bruins want to bring Beecher up without any other absences from their forward group, they would need to utilize one of their three remaining post-deadline standard recalls.
After an injury-plagued collegiate career with the University of Michigan and middling offensive results in the minors, it seems unlikely the 6-foot-3 pivot will reach the ceiling Boston hoped for by selecting him in the first round. Overall, early returns on his impact in a fourth-line role aren’t terribly promising outside of his 54.7 FO%, as he’s managed only six goals and three assists through 43 games.
He’s also recorded the worst even-strength CF% (37.7) of any Bruins skater with at least 10 games played. His -6.3 expected rating is also the lowest on the team. Beecher’s point totals likely aren’t sustainable either, as he’s shooting at an unusually high 20% rate.
Beecher has shown some improvement with Providence this season, posting 4-4–8 with a +9 rating in 17 games compared to 9-14–23 and a +9 rating in 61 games last year. The New York native is in the second season of his three-year, $2.775MM entry-level contract, which pays him a $70K salary at the minor-league level.
Maroon Resumes Skating, Still Week-To-Week
- Bruins winger Pat Maroon skated for the first time yesterday as he continues his rehab from back surgery, relays Steve Conroy of The Boston Globe. He underwent the procedure six weeks ago but is still a ways from returning; head coach Jim Montgomery termed Maroon as still being week-to-week. Boston picked up the 35-year-old at the trade deadline from Minnesota after Maroon put up 16 points and 71 hits in 49 games before the surgery.
Brad Marchand Questionable Saturday With Undisclosed Injury
- Bruins captain Brad Marchand is questionable for Saturday’s game against the Flyers after he was absent from today’s practice for maintenance purposes, head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters. The 35-year-old had been on a hot streak, picking up eight points in his last seven games. He’s on pace to finish below a point per game for a second straight season after doing so every year from 2016-17 to 2021-22, and his possession metrics have also dipped considerably without the now-retired Patrice Bergeron centering his line. He remains the Bruins’ top secondary talent to David Pastrňák, though, and is the team’s second-leading scorer with 27 goals and 62 points in 71 games.
Bruins Sign Michael DiPietro To An Extension
Shoring up some of their organizational goaltending depth for next season, the Boston Bruins announced they have signed goalie Michael DiPietro to a one-year, $775K two-way contract for the 2024-25 season. This extension will take DiPietro to his third season with the Bruins organization.
DiPietro was originally acquired by Boston two years ago, coming over from the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for Jack Studnicka. Once a top goaltending prospect in Vancouver’s system, injuries limited DiPietro’s development leading to the eventual trade to the Bruins.
After some exceptional years with the Windsor Spitfires, DiPietro played well for the Utica Comets once joining the Canucks organization, but his inability to play in nearly the entirety of the 2021-22 AHL season, coupled with the emergency of Thatcher Demko, led to his movement out of British Columbia. DiPietro’s downward trend continued, as the Bruins opted to play him with their ECHL affiliate last season, the Maine Mariners.
Nevertheless, DiPietro has rebounded nicely this season for the Providence Bruins and has helped put them in a comfortable position to make the playoffs in the AHL’s Atlantic Division. On the year in Providence, DiPietro has produced a 17-8-0 record in 26 games, coupled with a .917 save percentage and a 2.52 goals-against average.
Although he has not become the goaltender that the Canucks were hoping he would be, there may be an opportunity for DiPietro to crack the Bruins’ roster as soon as next season. With the team having attempted to trade Linus Ullmark to the Los Angeles Kings at this year’s trade deadline, it appears that Boston is adamant about trading one of their All-Star goaltenders, giving DiPietro an opening to make the team at next year’s training camp.
Afternoon Notes: Bischel, Marner, Lyubushkin, Regenda
The Boston Bruins have returned to the well in South Bend, signing the University of Notre Dame’s Ryan Bischel to a one-year, minor-league contract that begins next season. Bischel joins the Providence Bruins just one week after Notre Dame teammate Drew Bavaro signed a deal with the team. Bavaro – who signed an amateur try-out for the rest of this season, in addition to a one-year deal next season – has since played in the first two AHL games of his career, recording one penalty and two shots. Boston also acquired former Notre Dame captain Andrew Peeke at the Trade Deadline, sending Jakub Zboril and a 2027 third-round pick to the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Bruins are landing one of the top NCAA free agents in Bischel, who is a finalist for Big Ten Goaltender of the Year this season after winning the award last year. The 24-year-old netminder has served as Notre Dame’s full-time starter over the last two seasons, recording a combined 31 wins and .928 save percentage. He’s been dazzling for the Fighting Irish, earning the eighth-most wins and seventh-best save percentage in program history over his five years in Indiana.
Bischel now joins a Bruins goalie room filled with great talent, including reigning Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark, William M. Jennings Trophy batterymate Jeremy Swayman, and 2023 AHL All-Star Brandon Bussi. The Bruins reportedly tried to move Ullmark at the Deadline, though the esteemed netminder invoked his no-trade clause to block the deal. Boston could be poised to revisit those trade talks this summer, after bolstering their depth charts with this move.
Other notes from around the league:
- Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin is doubtful for the team’s Tuesday game against Philadelphia, per head coach Sheldon Keefe (Twitter Link), who shares that Lyubushkin is battling illness. Keefe also shared that star forward Mitch Marner continues to carry a day-to-day designation and won’t join the team on their upcoming two-game road trip. Marner has missed Toronto’s last three games with a high ankle sprain, while Lyubushkin may exit the lineup after battling through an undisclosed injury, and questionable designation, for the team’s Saturday game.
- The Anaheim Ducks have sent Pavol Regenda back to the AHL after recalling him on an emergency loan on March 12th. Regenda played in four NHL games on the recall, recording no points, two penalty minutes, and a -1. He also managed four blocks, six shots on net, and 10 hits. The matchups bring Regenda to 19 career NHL games, though the one goal and three points he managed in 14 games last season stand as his only scoring. The 24-year-old winger also has 16 goals and 29 points in 39 AHL games this season.
Montgomery Believes Lohrei Is Up For The Rest Of The Season
- While the Bruins papered Mason Lohrei back to AHL Providence to keep him eligible to play down there for the stretch run, that may not happen. Head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters including Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald that he feels the young blueliner will be up for the rest of the season. The 23-year-old has done well in his first pro campaign, getting into 39 games with Boston so far where he has a dozen points along with 61 blocks while averaging nearly 17 minutes a night.