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Training Camp Cuts: 10/2/25

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

There are five days to go until opening night. Only a few teams have sweeping cuts left to make, with the majority of clubs within five or so cuts (or even at) their final rosters already. We’re keeping track of today’s cuts with this article, which will be updated throughout the day.

Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)

G Calle Clang (to AHL San Diego)
F Nathan Gaucher (to AHL San Diego)
D Tyson Hinds (to AHL San Diego)
D Tristan Luneau (to AHL San Diego)
F Yegor Sidorov (to AHL San Diego)
D Stian Solberg (to AHL San Diego)

Boston Bruins (per team announcement)

F Dalton Bancroft (to AHL Providence)
F John Farinacci (to AHL Providence)
F Dans Locmelis (to AHL Providence)
D Billy Sweezey (to AHL Providence, cleared waivers)

Calgary Flames (per team announcement)

F Rory Kerins (to AHL Calgary, pending waivers)
G Ivan Prosvetov (to AHL Calgary, pending waivers)
D Ilya Solovyov (to AHL Calgary, pending waivers)

Dallas Stars (per team announcement)

G Rémi Poirier (to AHL Texas)

Detroit Red Wings (per team announcement)

F Ondřej Becher (to AHL Grand Rapids)
G Sebastian Cossa (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Sheldon Dries (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)
D William Lagesson (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)
F John Leonard (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)
F Amadeus Lombardi (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Ian Mitchell (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)
F Dominik Shine (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)
D Antti Tuomisto (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)
F Austin Watson (to AHL Grand Rapids, cleared waivers)

Edmonton Oilers (per team announcement)

F Connor Clattenburg (to AHL Bakersfield)
D Cam Dineen (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)
F James Hamblin (to AHL Bakersfield, cleared waivers)
F Quinn Hutson (to AHL Bakersfield)
D Atro Leppanen (to AHL Bakersfield)
F Viljami Marjala (to AHL Bakersfield)
F Josh Samanski (to AHL Bakersfield)
D Riley Stillman (to AHL Bakersfield, pending waivers)

Florida Panthers (per team announcement)

D Marek Alscher (to AHL Charlotte)
D Michael Benning (to AHL Charlotte)
G Cooper Black (to AHL Charlotte)
D Trevor Carrick (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
F Brett Chorske (released from ATO to AHL Charlotte)
F Josh Davies (to AHL Charlotte)
F Jack Devine (to AHL Charlotte)
D Ben Harpur (released from PTO)
D Mikulas Hovorka (to AHL Charlotte)
D Colton Huard (released from ATO to AHL Charlotte)
F Hunter Johannes (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
D Jake Livingstone (released from PTO to AHL Charlotte)
F Anton Lundmark (to AHL Charlotte)
F Ryan McAllister (to AHL Charlotte)
F Liam McLinskey (released from ATO to AHL Charlotte)
F Gracyn Sawchyn (to AHL Charlotte)
F Kai Schwindt (to AHL Charlotte)
F Hunter St. Martin (to AHL Charlotte)
F Ben Steeves (to AHL Charlotte)
F Sandis Vilmanis (to AHL Charlotte)

Nashville Predators (per team announcement)

D Andreas Englund (to AHL Milwaukee, cleared waivers)

New York Rangers (per team announcement)

D Casey Fitzgerald (to AHL Hartford, cleared waivers)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement)

F Karsen Dorwart (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Lane Pederson (to AHL Lehigh Valley, cleared waivers)

Pittsburgh Penguins (per team announcement)

D Scooter Brickey (released from PTO to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Mathieu De St. Phalle (released from PTO to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
G Taylor Gauthier (released from PTO to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
F Aidan McDonough (released from PTO to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)
D Chase Pietila (to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Patrick Giles (to AHL San Jose, cleared waivers)

Seattle Kraken (per team announcement)

F Ben Meyers (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)
F Mitchell Stephens (to AHL Coachella Valley, pending waivers)

Utah Mammoth (per team announcement)

F Ben McCartney (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)
D Scott Perunovich (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)
G Jaxson Stauber (to AHL Tucson, cleared waivers)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement)

F Louis Belpedio (to AHL Hershey, cleared waivers)
F Graeme Clarke (to AHL Hershey, cleared waivers)
D David Gucciardi (to AHL Hershey)
F Henrik Rybinski (to AHL Hershey, cleared waivers)
F Bogdan Trineyev (to AHL Hershey, cleared waivers)

Training Camp Cuts: 10/1/25

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There’s less than a week until the first game of the 2025-26 NHL season. Outside of a handful of teams, most clubs have around 35 players remaining on their training camp rosters, leaving plenty of work to do before opening night. As always, you can keep track of every team’s current iteration at our Training Camp Rosters tracker. Today’s cuts are as follows:

Boston Bruins (per PuckPedia)

D Billy Sweezey (to AHL Providence, pending waivers)

Colorado Avalanche (Per team announcement)

D Wyatt Aamodt (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
F Daniil Gushchin (to AHL Colorado, pending waivers)
F Maros Jedlicka (to AHL Colorado)
G Mathis Langevin (to QMJHL Rimouski)

Detroit Red Wings (per PuckPedia and team announcement)

F Carson Bantle (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Carter Bear (to WHL Everett)
F Alexandre Doucet (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Sheldon Dries (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
G Carter Gylander (to ECHL Toledo)
D Alex Kannok Leipert (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
D William Lagesson (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
F John Leonard (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
D Ian Mitchell (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
F Jakub Rychlovský (to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Gabriel Seger (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Dominik Shine (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)
F Eduards Tralmaks (to AHL Grand Rapids)
D Jacob Truscott (released from PTO to AHL Grand Rapids)
F Austin Watson (to AHL Grand Rapids, pending waivers)

Florida Panthers (per PuckPedia)

F MacKenzie Entwistle (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Nolan Foote (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)
F Wilmer Skoog (to AHL Charlotte, pending waivers)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

D Samuel Bolduc (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Logan Brown (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Martin Chromiak (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Kenny Connors (to AHL Ontario)
G Pheonix Copley (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Jakub Dvorak (to AHL Ontario)
F Glenn Gawdin (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Liam Greentree (to OHL Windsor)
F Cole Guttman (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Joe Hicketts (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Kirill Kirsanov (to AHL Ontario)
F Andre Lee (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
D Jack Millar (to AHL Ontario)
F Francesco Pinelli (to AHL Ontario)
G Erik Portillo (to AHL Ontario)
D Tim Rego (to AHL Ontario)
D Otto Salin (to AHL Ontario)
G Isaiah Saville (to AHL Ontario)
F Akil Thomas (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Taylor Ward (to AHL Ontario, pending waivers)
F Jared Wright (to AHL Ontario)

Nashville Predators (per PuckPedia and team announcement)

D Andreas Englund (to AHL Milwaukee, pending waivers)
F Reid Schaefer (to AHL Milwaukee)

Philadelphia Flyers (per team announcement and PuckPedia)

F Jacob Gaucher (to AHL Lehigh Valley)
F Lane Pederson (to AHL Lehigh Valley, pending waivers)

San Jose Sharks (per PuckPedia)

F Patrick Giles (to AHL San Jose, pending waivers)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team announcement)

F Nicholas Abruzzese (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Dylan Duke (to AHL Syracuse)
F Boris Katchouk (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Jakob Pelletier (to AHL Syracuse, pending waivers)
F Scott Sabourin (to AHL Syracuse)
D Roman Schmidt (to AHL Syracuse)
F Wojciech Stachowiak (to AHL Syracuse)

Utah Mammoth (per team announcement)

G Jaxson Stauber (to AHL Tucson, pending waivers)

Washington Capitals (per team announcement and PuckPedia)

D Louis Belpedio (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)
G Garin Bjorklund (to AHL Hershey)
F Graeme Clarke (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)
F Henrik Rybinski (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)
F Bogdan Trineyev (to AHL Hershey, pending waivers)

Winnipeg Jets (per PuckPedia and Murat Ates of The Athletic)

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
F Colby Barlow (to AHL Manitoba)
D Kale Clague (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
F Samuel Fagemo (to AHL Manitoba, pending waivers)
G Thomas Milic (to AHL Manitoba)
D Elias Salomonsson (to AHL Manitoba)
F Brayden Yager (to AHL Manitoba)

Waivers: 10/1/25

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With less than a week to go until the regular season, waiver season is in full swing. According to PuckPedia, the largest waiver placement of the preseason has taken place:

Boston Bruins

D Billy Sweezey

Colorado Avalanche

D Wyatt Aamodt
F Daniil Gushchin

Detroit Red Wings

F Sheldon Dries
D William Lagesson
F John Leonard
D Ian Mitchell
F Dominik Shine
F Austin Watson

Florida Panthers

F MacKenzie Entwistle
F Nolan Foote
F Wilmer Skoog

Los Angeles Kings

D Samuel Bolduc
F Logan Brown
F Martin Chromiak
G Pheonix Copley
F Glenn Gawdin
F Cole Guttman
D Joe Hicketts
F Andre Lee
F Akil Thomas
F Taylor Ward

Nashville Predators

D Andreas Englund

Philadelphia Flyers

F Lane Pederson

San Jose Sharks

F Patrick Giles

Tampa Bay Lightning

F Nicholas Abruzzese
F Boris Katchouk
F Jakob Pelletier

Utah Mammoth

G Jaxson Stauber

Washington Capitals

D Louis Belpedio
F Graeme Clarke
F Henrik Rybinski
F Bogdan Trineyev

Winnipeg Jets

F Jaret Anderson-Dolan
D Kale Clague
F Samuel Fagemo

Bruins’ Michael DiPietro Unlikely To Pass Through Waivers

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Despite signing a two-year, $1.63MM extension with the team this summer, Michael DiPietro’s tenure in the Boston Bruins organization appears to be numbered. In his recent rendition of 32 Thoughts, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said, “I have no doubt teams will be looking hard at [him]. There will be teams this week curious to see what the Bruins do.”

The news isn’t surprising, as reports in mid-June indicated that teams were interested in signing DiPietro last offseason before the Bruins worked out an extension with him on the eve of free agency. Still, Boston has not indicated that they’ll want to carry three netminders on the roster for the bulk of the 2025-26 campaign, and DiPietro is unlikely to move past Jeremy Swayman or Joonas Korpisalo on the depth chart barring injury.

It wasn’t all that long ago that DiPietro was an impressive prospect coming out of the Canadian Major Junior system. Throughout his four-year career with the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, DiPietro managed a 98-53-13 record in 174 games with a .913 SV% and 2.52 GAA, while backstopping the Spitfires to a Memorial Cup Championship in 2017. DiPietro was selected 64th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 2017 NHL Draft.

The native of Windsor, Ontario, struggled to advance in the Canucks system, although he had strong seasons with the Utica Comets and Abbotsford Canucks in the AHL. Vancouver pulled the plug on DiPietro’s tenure with the organization fairly quickly, including him in a package to the Bruins for Jack Studnicka earlier on in the 2022-23 campaign.

As alluded to, DiPietro has come into his own with the AHL’s Providence Bruins. Particularly last season, DiPietro earned a 26-8-7 record in 40 games with a .927 SV% and 2.05 GAA, with four shutouts. The season was impressive enough for DiPietro to earn the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the league’s top netminder and AHL First All-Star Team honors.

Similar to Arturs Silovs’ meteoric rise through the AHL last season, and subsequent trade to the Pittsburgh Penguins this past offseason, any team with a need at the backup goalie position would be interested in giving DiPietro an opportunity at the NHL level. Unfortunately, that market is fairly limited, as most teams have filled their backup position through some form or another throughout the offseason.

Still, the Calgary Flames, Columbus Blue Jackets, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vegas Golden Knights may all have lukewarm interest at the very least. Further, if an unfortunate injury arises to another goaltender as the preseason wraps up, that would create another void that DiPietro could conceivably fill.

Training Camp Cuts: 9/28/25

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The countdown to the NHL season has reached single-digits. Teams will kickoff in just nine days, with the preseason set to last just six more days. That will put the pressure on every team to begin finalize their opening night roster – and quickly expand the list of exciting names on the waiver wire. Each team’s current roster can be found at our Training Camp Roster Tracker. Here is the list of today’s cuts:

Anaheim Ducks (per team announcement)

F Justin Bailey (to AHL San Diego)
D Jeremie Biakabutuka (to AHL San Diego)
D Nikolas Brouillard (to AHL San Diego)
G Vyacheslav Buteyets (to AHL San Diego)
F Judd Caulfield (to AHL San Diego)
G Calle Clang (to AHL San Diego)
F Nathan Gaucher (to AHL San Diego)
F Nico Myatovic (to AHL San Diego)
F Sasha Pastujov (to AHL San Diego)
F Matthew Phillips (to AHL San Diego)
F Yegor Sidorov (to AHL San Diego)
D Konnor Smith (to AHL San Diego)
G Tomas Suchanek (to AHL San Diego)
D Noah Warren (to AHL San Diego)
F Jaxsen Wiebe (to AHL San Diego)
C Jan Mysak (placed on waivers with intent to reassign to AHL San Diego)

Boston Bruins (per team announcement)

F Joey Abate (to AHL Providence)
G Luke Cavallin (to AHL Providence)
F Ty Cheveldayoff (to AHL Providence)
D Jackson Edward (to AHL Providence)
D Colin Felix (to AHL Providence)
D Ty Gallagher (to AHL Providence)
D Loke Johansson (to AHL Providence)
F Jake Schmaltz (to AHL Providence)
D Max Wanner (to AHL Providence)
G Simon Zajicek (to AHL Providence)

Carolina Hurricanes (per team announcement)

G Amir Miftakhov (to AHL Chicago)
G Ruslan Khazheyev (to AHL Chicago)

Chicago Blackhawks (per team announcement)

G Stanislav Berezhnoy (to AHL Rockford)
F Jackson Cates (released from PTO to AHL Rockford)
F Gavin Hayes (to AHL Rockford)
F Martin Misiak (to AHL Rockford)

Colorado Avalanche (per team announcement)

D Ronnie Attard (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Colorado)
F Chase Bradley (to AHL Colorado)
D Alex Gagne (to AHL Colorado)
F Cooper Gay (to AHL Colorado)
G Kyle Keyser (to AHL Colorado)

Columbus Blue Jackets (per team announcement)

F Luca Del Bel Belluz (to AHL Cleveland)
F James Malatesta (to AHL Cleveland)
F Max McCue (to AHL Cleveland)
F Luca Pinelli (to AHL Cleveland)
D Corson Ceulemans (to AHL Cleveland)
D Stanislav Svozil (to AHL Cleveland)
G Nolan Lalonde (to AHL Cleveland)
F Hudson Fasching (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Cleveland)
F Brendan Gaunce (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Cleveland)
F Mikael Pyyhtia (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Cleveland)
F Oiva Keskinen (to Tappara, Liiga)
D Brendan Smith (released from PTO)

Dallas Stars (per team announcement)

F Francesco Arcuri (to AHL Texas)
D Tristan Bertucci (to AHL Texas)
F Justin Ertel (to AHL Texas)
F Emil Hemming (to AHL Texas)
G Ben Kraws (to AHL Texas)
D Christian Kyrou (to AHL Texas)
F Ayrton Martino (to AHL Texas)
F Angus MacDonnell (to AHL Texas)
D Connor Punnett (to AHL Texas)
F Harrison Scott (to AHL Texas)
F Matthew Seminoff (to AHL Texas)
D Trey Taylor (to AHL Texas)
G Arno Tiefensee (to AHL Texas)
D Gavin White (to AHL Texas)
D Tommy Bergsland (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Sean Chisholm (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
D Aidan Hreschuk (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Artem Shlaine (released from ATO to AHL Texas)
F Jack Becker (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
G Antoine Bibeau (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
F Cross Hanas (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
D Michael Karow (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
D Kyle Looft (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
F Curtis MacKenzie (released from PTO to AHL Texas)
F Kaleb Pearson (released from PTO to AHL Texas)

Los Angeles Kings (per team announcement)

F Jacob Doty (to AHL Ontario)
F Jack Hughes (to AHL Ontario)
F Kenta Isogai (to AHL Ontario)

Minnesota Wild (per team announcement)

F Bradley Marek (to AHL Iowa)
F Riley Heidt (to AHL Iowa)
D Kyle Masters (to AHL Iowa)
D Jack Peart (to AHL Iowa)
F Elliot Desnoyers (to AHL Iowa)
F Jean-Luc Foudy (to AHL Iowa)
F Mark Liwiski (to AHL Iowa)
F Ryan Sandelin (to AHL Iowa)
D Mike Koster (to AHL Iowa)
D Will Zmolek (to AHL Iowa)

Montreal Canadiens (per team announcement)

F Vincent Arseneau (to AHL Laval)
F Alex Belzile (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
D Nathan Clurman (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
F Lucas Condotta (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
F Laurent Dauphin (to AHL Laval)
F Jared Davidson (to AHL Laval)
D Marc Del Gaizo (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
F Will Dineen (to AHL Laval)
F Joe Dunlap (to AHL Laval)
F Mark Estapa (to AHL Laval)
F Sean Farrell (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Laval)
G Jacob Fowler (to AHL Laval)
G Benjamin Gaudreau (to AHL Laval)
F Egor Guriunov (to AHL Laval)
D Joshua Jacobs (to AHL Laval)
G Hunter Jones (to AHL Laval)
F Riley Kidney (to AHL Laval)
D Darick Louis-Jean (to AHL Laval)
G Kevin Mandolese (to AHL Laval)
D Charles Martin (to AHL Laval)
F Filip Mesar (to AHL Laval)
F Israel Mianscum (to AHL Laval)
D Ryan O’Rourke (to AHL Laval)
D Tobie Paquette-Bisson (to AHL Laval)
F Vinzenz Rohrer (to Zurich, NL)
F Joshua Roy (to AHL Laval)
F Xavier Simoneau (to AHL Laval)
F Tyler Thorpe (to AHL Laval)
F Luke Tuch (to AHL Laval)
D Wyatte Wylie (to AHL Laval)

San Jose Sharks (per team announcement)

F Carson Wetsch (to WHL Kelowna)
D Haoxi (Simon) Wang (to OHL Oshawa)

St. Louis Blues (per team announcement)

F Nikita Alexandrov (to AHL Springfield)
F Samuel Bitten (to AHL Springfield)
F Hugh McGing (to AHL Springfield)
F Matthew Peca (to AHL Springfield)
F Juraj Pekarcik (to AHL Springfield)
F Dylan Peterson (to AHL Springfield)
F Simon Robertsson (to AHL Springfield)
F Sam Stange (to AHL Springfield)
F Jakub Stancl (to AHL Springfield)
F Nikita Susev (to AHL Springfield)
F Chris Wagner (to AHL Springfield)
D Michael Buchinger (to AHL Springfield)
D Quinton Burns (to AHL Springfield)
D Marc-Andre Gaudet (to AHL Springfield)
D Samuel Johannesson (to AHL Springfield)
D Anthony Kehrer (to AHL Springfield)
G Will Cranley (to AHL Springfield)
G Vadim Zherenko (to AHL Springfield)
F Justin Carbonneau (to QMJHL Blainville)
D Adam Jiricek (to OHL Brantford)

Tampa Bay Lightning (per team announcement)

F Tristan Allard (to AHL Syracuse)
F Cooper Flinton (to AHL Syracuse)
F Brendan Furry (to AHL Syracuse)
F Ethan Gauthier (to AHL Syracuse)
F Niko Huuhtanen (to AHL Syracuse)
F Spencer Kersten (to AHL Syracuse)
F Connor Kurth (to AHL Syracuse)
F Lucas Mercuri (to AHL Syracuse)
F Reece Newkirk (to AHL Syracuse)
F Milo Roelens (to AHL Syracuse)
F Gabriel Szturc (to AHL Syracuse)
D Charle-Edouard D’Astous (to AHL Syracuse)
D Dyllan Gill (to AHL Syracuse)
D Maxim Groshev (to AHL Syracuse)
D Chris Harpur (to AHL Syracuse)
D Tommy Miller (to AHL Syracuse)
D Matteo Petroniro (to AHL Syracuse)
G Harrison Meneghin (to AHL Syracuse)
G Ryan Fanti (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)
F Scott Sabourin (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)
D Steven Santini (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)
D Simon Lundmark (placed on waivers with the intent to reassign to AHL Syracuse)

Toronto Maple Leafs (per team announcement)

F Miroslav Holinka (to WHL Edmonton)

Winnipeg Jets (per announcement from AHL Manitoba)

D Dylan Anhorn (released from PTO to AHL Manitoba)
F Jacob Julien (to AHL Manitoba)
G Isaac Poulter (to AHL Manitoba)
F Fabian Wagner (to AHL Manitoba)

Could Beecher Be At Risk Of Losing His Roster Spot?

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Bruins center John Beecher was a regular on the fourth line last season and seemed to have an inside track at a similar role this season before Boston went and overhauled its bottom six.  The team added Tanner Jeannot, Sean Kuraly, and Mikey Eyssimont (plus some other depth additions) in free agency, creating more competition for that role.  With that in mind, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald posits that Beecher might be in tough simply to earn a spot on the roster let alone retain his slot in the lineup.  Considering he’s just 24 and is signed for $900K, it’s unlikely he’d pass through waivers unclaimed so if Boston decides that he’s not going to be on their opening roster, Beecher could find himself on the trade block pretty quickly.

Bruins Hire Zdeno Chara As Hockey Operations Advisor

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The Bruins are bringing longtime captain Zdeno Chara back to the organization in a formal capacity, today announcing they’ve named him a hockey operations advisor and mentor. His main roles “will include building relationships and strengthening communication between players and coaches, attending practices and home games, and providing off-ice development support to defensemen,” the team said. “He will also serve as a resource for the team’s development staff and make periodic visits to connect with prospects at the AHL level.”

He’s a notable past-to-present bridge as the Boston organization continues to embark on a retool, particularly as first-time head coach Marco Sturm takes the reins. Chara hasn’t played for the club since 2020, departing in free agency to spend his final two NHL seasons with the Capitals and Islanders, but he served as the club’s captain and leader on the blue line for all of his 1,023 games after landing there in free agency in 2006.

Being a hockey ops advisor, Chara will report to general manager Don Sweeney. He’ll essentially serve a tier below assistant GMs Evan Gold and Jamie Langenbrunner, although if he’s open to it, a promotion to be on par with them shouldn’t be too far off.

He’s the second longtime Bruins defenseman to transition into a front office role with the club this month. They also recently promoted Adam McQuaid, who played with Chara for most of the 2010s, to their director of player development.

Chara’s 1,023 games as a Bruin rank third in franchise history among rearguards, trailing Sweeney’s 1,052 and Ray Bourque’s 1,518. His 1,680 total games played, including stops in New York, Ottawa, and Washington, make him the league’s all-time games played leader among defenders. He was a first-ballot Hall of Famer in this year’s class, but the Bruins haven’t yet retired his No. 33 jersey.

Alex Steeves Has Training Camp Opportunity

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  • Outside of star David Pastrnak, the Boston Bruins don’t have the NHL’s most standout collection of forwards. But where there is a lack of established talent, there is also opportunity for less-experienced players to establish themselves, and that’s exactly what 25-year-old AHL standout Alex Steeves appears to have the opportunity to do. The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa reports that Steeves, who has been playing on a line with Casey Mittlestadt to start training camp, “should have a better chance to stick” on Boston’s NHL roster than he did with the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he was generally an AHL scorer. According to Shinzawa, playing with Mittlestadt has been “a good spot” for Steeves, who had 36 goals and 62 points across 59 AHL games last season. While it’s unwise to put too much stock into early training camp deployments, one thing is clear: this preseason is perhaps the largest opportunity for Steeves to become a full-time NHLer as he’s had in his entire pro career thusfar.

Atlantic Notes: Pastrnak, Tkachuk, Marchand, Edvinsson

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Yesterday, it looked like Bruins star David Pastrnak would be limited to begin training camp when the team told reporters, including Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, that he wouldn’t be skating for the first few days due to a tendonitis flare-up. That ended up not being the case as he was on the ice this morning skating and shooting by himself, relays Steve Conroy of The Boston Herald. He’s not participating in the full session today, though. Conor Ryan of The Boston Globe reports that trade pickup Viktor Arvidsson is skating as a placeholder in Pastrnak’s spot on the top line alongside Morgan Geekie and Elias Lindholm for the time being. In any event, it doesn’t look like Pastrnak’s ironman streak, which dates back to the 2021-22 season, is in jeopardy as he aims for his fourth consecutive 100-point season.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Panthers put out some contrasting smoke signals yesterday on Matthew Tkachuk’s timeline for returning from adductor surgery. He underwent the procedure in mid-August, and the initial report was that he was targeting a January season debut. General manager Bill Zito was more optimistic about Tkachuk’s timeline yesterday, telling George Richards of Florida Hockey Now that December could be an option, while head coach Paul Maurice gave a more vague “midseason” designation. In any event, Florida will be playing at least the first quarter of their season without the services of one of their many star wingers.
  • Florida winger Brad Marchand also spoke during yesterday’s media availability, telling Alex Baumgartner of Five Reasons Sports that the lack of income tax in the state was one of the main factors in the Cats’ ability to keep all of him, Sam Bennett, and Aaron Ekblad from reaching free agency this summer. “If we were not in a non-tax state, it wouldn’t have worked out probably for two guys. Two guys probably would have been leaving in that situation. So it’s a benefit that this team has, we were able to utilize and make work,” Marchand said. He also cited the term of his extension offer from Florida (six years) as a driving force behind his decision to stay and one of the reasons he opted not to sign an extension with the Bruins, leading to his trade to Florida at the deadline last year.
  • Red Wings defenseman Simon Edvinsson will miss most, if not all, of training camp due to a lower-body injury, general manager Steve Yzerman said yesterday (via Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports). His return timeline is “around the start of the regular season.” If he’s to miss any time, that’s a crushing early-season blow to one of the league’s thinnest blue lines. The 2021 No. 6 overall pick broke out for 31 points and a +12 rating in 78 contests last season and is one of only two truly top-four-caliber defenders in the organization, alongside Moritz Seider.

Bruins Promote Adam McQuaid, Hire Ben Smith

at CDT | by 7 Comments

Former Bruins defenseman Adam McQuaid is now carving out a successful career for himself in their front office. The club announced today that he’s been promoted to a director of player development role, among a few other minor hockey ops hirings and promotions.

It’s a new role in the organization, so McQuaid will presumably be taking some work off an assistant GM’s plate. Boston didn’t have a particularly large player development department – it consisted of McQuaid, their lone dedicated skater development coach and coordinator since his hiring in 2021, and longtime NHL netminder Mike Dunham as their goalie development coach.

While a reward for McQuaid’s work so far, the title change is also a signifier for Boston’s organizational repositioning from contender to retooler. The club was a big seller at last year’s trade deadline and added center James Hagens – their top prospect since selecting Charlie McAvoy nearly a decade ago – with the No. 7 overall pick in this year’s draft.

The Bruins are also bringing up Nick Neary from their AHL staff to join the big club. The 30-year-old joined the Providence Bruins in 2020 as a video coordinator before being promoted to the club’s video coach and manager of hockey operations prior to last season. He’ll now serve on the NHL staff as an assistant video coordinator under Mathew Myers, who’s been Boston’s video coach since 2019. Replacing Neary in Providence is Cam Wolbach, who lands his first documented hockey staffing job. He played high school hockey in Massachusetts as well as ACHA Division II hockey with Bentley University.

Joining McQuaid in Boston’s player development department is former NHL forward Ben Smith, who’s been brought on under McQuaid as a player development coordinator. It doubles as a retirement announcement for the 37-year-old, who had been playing in Germany since heading overseas in 2018. He suited up for Boston College but never played for the Bruins. Smith won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and recorded 54 points in 237 NHL games for them, the Maple Leafs, Sharks, and Avalanche.

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