Kevin Shattenkirk Misses Practice With Illness, Anthony Richard Recalled
- Bruins defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was absent from Monday’s practice due to illness, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald reports. Shattenkirk, 35, has slipped down the Bruins’ depth chart lately, serving as a healthy scratch in four out of their last seven games in favor of 26-year-old farmhand Parker Wotherspoon. The 2007 first-round pick signed a one-year, $1.05MM deal to join Boston in free agency, and he’s provided some solid two-way play in bottom-pairing minutes with 13 points and a 1.1% relative Corsi share at even strength in 42 games.
- The Bruins also summoned winger Anthony Richard from AHL Providence after sending him down early Monday morning, per the NHL’s media site. The 27-year-old skated on the third line in this morning’s practice and could play his second straight game when the Bruins host the Lightning on Tuesday. The 27-year-old is second on Providence in scoring with 19 goals and 19 assists for 38 points in 41 games.
Kraken Receiving Interest In Jordan Eberle, Alexander Wennberg
The Kraken are receiving interest from multiple teams regarding winger Jordan Eberle and center Alexander Wennberg ahead of the March 8 trade deadline, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports.
Both players are again top-six fixtures for Seattle, who have yo-yoed their way in and out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference all season long. They’re pending UFAs with hefty cap hits of $5.5MM and $4.5MM, respectively, but the Kraken have all three salary retention spots open and could keep money on the books for the rest of the season to facilitate a deal if they do intend on selling at the deadline.
The Oilers have already been linked to Eberle in their pursuit of a complementary top-six winger, with Pagnotta reporting another one of his former teams, the Islanders, as well as the Maple Leafs, have demonstrated interest. The Bruins and Avalanche have called about Wennberg, who’s one of the few quality centers remaining on the deadline rental market.
Whether the Kraken will decide to sell off assets at the deadline is an entirely different question. A recent 3-6-1 stretch now has them six points out of playoff position, but there’s still a shot for Seattle to squeak in for their second consecutive playoff appearance. With a quickly aging group still comprised primarily of expansion draft selections, however, they’d likely do well to recoup value for some veterans and retool around Vince Dunn, Matthew Beniers, and Jared McCann.
Eberle would presumably fetch more value than Wennberg, and rightfully so. He’s having a down season in the goals department – just nine in 49 games, but his 28 points are fifth on the team, and he leads all Kraken players in even-strength Corsi share. He’s been their best two-way skater this season – not just forward – and with eight 20-goal seasons under his belt, he carries immense breakout potential if paired with the skill level of a contending team’s top six.
Thus, a reunion with Edmonton makes the most sense out of the three teams listed. There’s no better breakout potential for Eberle at right wing than alongside Leon Draisaitl on the Oilers’ second unit, and he could do wonders for Draisaitl-anchored lines that have struggled defensively without Connor McDavid.
Wennberg is more of a depth add than an impact pickup for a contender – he’s likely not suited for anything above a third-line role on a team with contending aspirations. He has leveraged major minutes since joining Seattle, logging 18:23 per game over the last three seasons.
Like Eberle, he’s struggled on the scoresheet with eight goals and 21 points in 51 games. Unlike Eberle, he’s shooting above his career average and has some of the worst possession metrics on the Kraken – only Brandon Tanev has a worse Corsi share at even strength among full-time members. His expected -3.6 rating is the worst on the team, and he’s won less than 50% of his faceoffs for the 10th time in 10 NHL seasons. As such, he’s likely a complement to the Bruins’ and Avs’ cast of middle-six centers that lack punch, not a significant upgrade. Even at a half-retained $2.25MM cap hit, his disappointing season might be too much to swallow and a third team may need to retain another 50% of his salary to facilitate a trade.
Bruins Reassign Anthony Richard
The Bruins reassigned winger Anthony Richard to AHL Providence on Monday, per CapFriendly. Richard, 27, was summoned from the minors on Thursday and made his Boston debut in Saturday’s 3-0 loss to the Capitals, recording one shot on goal in 10:38 of ice time.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney will likely make a corresponding recall ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Lightning, whether it’s bringing up Richard again or someone else. After sending Richard down, the Bruins are carrying 13 forwards on the NHL roster, but only 12 of them are healthy. Rookie Matthew Poitras remains on the roster despite requiring season-ending shoulder surgery, meaning he’ll end up on long-term injured reserve at some point, but they remain without an extra forward to insert into the lineup if a game-day injury strikes or if head coach Jim Montgomery wants to tinker with his personnel.
Despite being undersized, Richard has leveraged his speed to be a point-per-game producer in the AHL over the past two seasons. He has 49 goals and 105 points in 101 games since the beginning of 2022-23 and has posted 19 goals and 38 points in 41 games for Providence. After spending last season in the Canadiens organization and playing a career-high 13 NHL games as a result of his strong production with their AHL affiliate in Laval, Richard earned a relatively lucrative one-year, two-way deal from the Bruins in free agency that guarantees him $475K in salary.
Matt Grzelcyk Fined For Spearing
Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk has been fined $5K for spearing Capitals winger Max Pacioretty late in the first period of Saturday’s game, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced Sunday. The fine is the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement and comes after Grzelcyk was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct on the play, sidelining him for the last two periods of the game.
Boston Bruins Recall Anthony Richard
- The Boston Bruins have recalled centerman Anthony Richard to the NHL. It’s the first recall of Richard’s stint with Boston, who signed the forward to a one-year, two-way, $775K contract with the club on July 1st. Last season marked the first time Richard has played in more than one NHL game in a season, appearing in 13 outings and scoring five points with the Montreal Canadiens. The 27-year-old has been in the AHL since the 2015-16 season, totaling 463 games and 282 points in the league. That includes his 37 points in 41 games with the Providence Bruins this season.
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Grzelcyk Among Limited Trade Options For Bruins
- Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston examines the Bruins’ trade options, or, more specifically, the lack thereof. With them missing several draft picks and a thinned-out prospect pool as a result of their consistent win-now approach, GM Don Sweeney may exercise some caution before moving any of what he has left out. Meanwhile, with cap space at a premium, they might be in a spot where they would have to move out a contract to make a move; Goss pegs blueliner Matt Grzelcyk as a potential candidate to be moved. The pending UFA has a $3.6875MM cap charge which would give Sweeney some flexibility to take a player back if he opts to add to his roster in the next month.
Matthew Poitras Out For The Season
Matthew Poitras was one of the bright spots for the Bruins this season, earning a roster spot in training camp and largely playing a regular role since then. However, his rookie year has come to an early end as the team announced that Poitras has undergone a successful right shoulder open stabilization. That procedure carries a five-month recovery time, ending his season. GM Don Sweeney released the following statement on the procedure:
Our medical staff made the recommendation for Matt to proceed with the surgery rather than continue playing with an unstable shoulder and risking further damage. Everyone involved supported the decision as to do what was best for him at this time. Matt is just starting his Bruins career and is a key part of our future.
The 2022 second-round pick had a strong preseason showing to help him break camp with the big club in October and he didn’t look back. Poitras had five goals and ten assists in 33 games while averaging over 13 minutes a night, a strong first taste of NHL action. Boston opted to loan him to play for Canada at the World Juniors back in December and he has some success offensively in that event, recording two goals and two helpers in five contests. Upon returning, his playing time had been more sporadic with this shoulder injury clearly being the reason for that.
Boston is currently using LTIR and will likely be placing Poitras on there in the near future, giving the team a little extra salary cap flexibility. However, with Poitras on his entry-level contract, the potential cap savings will be limited as his AAV is just $870K with most of that likely being earmarked for whoever the Bruins elect to recall to take his spot on the roster. Speculatively, Patrick Brown, who has been back and forth several times this season, could be brought up to serve in the reserve forward role while it wouldn’t be surprising to see Sweeney look for some extra depth down the middle before next month’s trade deadline.
While Poitras officially burned the first year of his contract early in the season, the surgery will prevent him from hitting the 40-game benchmark which would have allowed him to accrue a year of service time toward UFA eligibility. Instead, he won’t be eligible to hit the open market until he turns 27 in 2031.
Bruins Issue Injury Updates On Matthew Poitras, Derek Forbort
- Bruins rookie Matthew Poitras is questionable for Tuesday’s game against the Flames, head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters (including independent Bruins reporter Ty Anderson). He’s only played in three out of Boston’s last nine games and missed the final contest before the All-Star break with an undisclosed injury. The 19-year-old has two assists in six games since returning from representing Canada at the 2024 IIHF World Juniors, in which they failed to medal for the first time since 2019.
- While Jeannot remains out Wednesday, it won’t be long until the middle-six grinder is ready to return. Head coach Jon Cooper informed reporters Monday that the team expects him to return at some point during their upcoming four-game road trip, which concludes with a Feb. 13 contest in Boston. Jeannot has struggled in his first full season in the Sunshine State, scoring six goals and 12 points in 41 games while averaging 12:35 per game. It’s the production or role expected of him after Lightning GM Julien BriseBois swung big for his services ahead of last season’s trade deadline, parting with five draft picks, including a 2025 first-round selection. He’s been out of the lineup for nearly a month, sustaining a lower-body injury against the Bruins on Jan. 6.
Bruins Deadline Plans Hinge On DeBrusk's Future
In an article today by Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald, he discusses the pressing matter of a Jake DeBrusk extension with the Boston Bruins. Moving forward, Conroy asserts that if the Bruins cannot extend DeBrusk at a reasonable price, he could be the central piece in a trade bringing in some top-level talent to Boston.
After requesting a trade from the Bruins only two seasons ago, DeBrusk has rebounded nicely in the last several years, scoring 39 goals and 75 points in 111 games over the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. Even though most teams would gladly accept a player of DeBrusk’s talent, his status as a pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason would make him an odd trade chip for most selling teams. Suppose DeBrusk is not willing to discuss an extension until after the season has concluded; in that case, Boston will be hard-pressed to find a team willing to acquire him, unless the Bruins are comfortable selling him for additional trade assets in a separate deal.
- Sticking in Boston, Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston wrote an article highlighting two of the Bruins’ biggest needs leading into the deadline: a middle-six forward and a physical veteran defenseman. Without a draft pick until the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft, it’s going to be incredibly difficult for Boston to procure said talent, so they may have to shop at the bottom-tier options at this year’s deadline. With an incredibly saturated roster, the Bruins may able to pry pending unrestricted free agents Victor Olofsson and Erik Johnson from the Buffalo Sabres by the deadline for a lower price comparatively.
Blaine Lacher Passes Away At 53
- Former Bruins goaltender Blaine Lacher passed away on Friday at the age of 53, the team announced (Twitter link). Lacher made an immediate impact in the NHL, coming up as Boston’s starter in the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign, putting up a 2.41 GAA in 35 games to earn him a top-five finish in Calder Trophy voting. However, Lacher only made seven appearances at the top level after that. No cause of death was revealed.