Henri Jokiharju already has a jersey number assigned in Providence.
That's the odd reality right now for the Boston Bruins ' defenseman who was recently placed on waivers.
The waivers, in one sense, allow Jokiharju to go down to the AHL level with their affiliate in Providence — if he clears waivers without being claimed.
But the other truth is that the Bruins are signaling their intent here. Jokiharju doesn't have a spot on the NHL roster, and that might make his contract one that Boston would prefer to deal away.
On Tuesday, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman wrote that the Bruins are looking to trade Jokiharju.
That was only about 12 hours before Boston went out and won its season opener 3-0 over the New York Rangers . But as mentioned, Jokiharju wasn't there. He's not on the NHL roster right now.
Jokiharju is entering the second season of a three-year, $9 million contract. He wasn't meant to be out of the mix this quickly.
But in the offseason, the Bruins brought aboard William Borgen and Connor Clifton , which made it tougher for Jokiharju to keep a spot.
There haven't been any specific teams floated as trade landing spots yet, but a veteran defenseman with international experience (Finland) should get at least some level of interest from teams who might find themselves a little light on the blue line.
The Bruins waived Jokiharju because they didn't see him fitting into their regular lineup for the new season.
"He wasn't really a fit under Marco Sturm, suiting up in only 41 games for Boston in 2025-26 and becoming a regular healthy scratch at times," The Athletic wrote after Jokiharju was placed on waivers . "Boston's acquisitions of Will Borgen and Connor Clifton beefed up the team's right-side blue line depth, making Jokiharju expendable."
With the Bruins last season, he had just two goals and 13 assists (15 points) in 41 games played.
"Jokiharju is an interesting player," The Athletic wrote. "He's proven he's NHL-caliber, with almost 500 games of experience, and has never averaged below 17:30 per game in a season, meaning he can handle a greater workload than your typical No. 6/7 defenseman. Jokiharju has a decent first pass, and his underlying metrics are respectable — he had a positive impact on the Bruins' ability to control shots and expected goals, and the club had a plus-four goal differential during his five-on-five shifts last season. That's notable because his minutes and matchups weren't excessively sheltered."
His contract isn't ideal for the Bruins, but that also means it isn't ideal for other teams.
Boston would likely need to luck out that a team with some flexibility in cap space also happens to be seeking a veteran defenseman.
Otherwise, this season could include an unexpected amount of time in Providence for Jokiharju.
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