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Bruins Quietly Get Good News After Risky Roster Decision
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- Bruins Quietly Get Good News After Risky Roster Decision
Bruins Quietly Get Good News After Risky Roster Decision originally appeared on NESN . Add NESN as a Preferred Source by clicking here .
The Boston Bruins made a potentially risky roster decision this week. It ended about as well as they could have hoped.
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Boston placed forward Mikey Eyssimont on waivers Sunday as the club prepared to activate Matthew Poitras from injured reserve. Eyssimont went unclaimed, allowing the Bruins to assign him to Providence without losing an experienced NHL forward for nothing.
It isn't the type of transaction that will generate nearly as much attention as a trade or major signing. For the Bruins, however, it could prove valuable later this season.
Bruins Managed To Keep Important Depth
Eyssimont appeared in 77 games for the Seattle Kraken last season, recording 13 goals and 11 assists while providing the type of energy and physicality that can become useful over an 82-game schedule.
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Boston signed the 30-year-old to a one-year contract during the offseason, but the emergence of other options created a roster crunch once Poitras was ready to return.
The Bruins ultimately decided Eyssimont was the player they could risk exposing to waivers. Nobody claimed him.
That means Boston essentially created the roster spot it needed without sacrificing organizational depth.
Eyssimont now gives Providence an experienced forward who has played more than 300 NHL games. More importantly for Boston, he remains available if injuries or poor performance create another opening with the NHL club.
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Those situations almost certainly will arrive. They usually do.
MORE: Bruins' Biggest Early-Season Problem Is Becoming Impossible To Ignore
Poitras Now Gets His Opportunity
The move also cleared the way for Poitras to make his season debut Monday against the Ottawa Senators. Poitras skated 11:28 on Boston's fourth line alongside Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic. He finished with a plus-1 rating in the Bruins' 4-1 loss.
It wasn't a spectacular return, but that wasn't really the point. Boston wanted to get the 22-year-old back into NHL action after he spent most of last season in Providence, where he recorded 44 points in 69 games.
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Poitras now gets another opportunity to prove he belongs in the Bruins' everyday lineup. And Boston didn't have to permanently lose another useful player to make room for him.
The Bruins have much bigger issues to address after consecutive losses. Their power play has yet to score this season, and Monday's performance against Ottawa left Nikita Zadorov openly calling for the club to rediscover its identity.
Those problems will receive most of the attention.
Behind the scenes, though, Boston just navigated a tricky roster situation about as cleanly as possible.
Poitras is back. Eyssimont remains in the organization. For a team that will almost certainly need its depth tested before the season is over, keeping both could eventually matter.
