Boston Bruins Release Matthew Poitras To Team Canada

This was definitely a possibility over the last couple of weeks. However, as of last week, the Bruins had yet to make a decision on whether or not to release Poitras to Team Canada.

Earlier in the season, Poitras playing in the World Juniors for Team Canada would have been out of the question. However, Poitras’s production has slowed down as the Bruins are load managing the rookie, similar to what the Anaheim Ducks are doing with Leo Carlsson.

As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported on Monday, “Last week there was a lot of, ‘(Poitras) is not going.’ Then all of a sudden it changed pretty quickly.”

Poitras only learned about the decision when he spoke with general manager Don Sweeney and is excited to represent his country.

“I didn’t really know until a couple days ago,” Poitras told the media on Monday. “We talked about it and we had a good conversation about it’s the World Juniors. As a Canadian kid, you grow up and it’s the dream to play in the World Juniors. This is kind of the last chance. Can’t go back and play next year. We both think it’s a good opportunity to go over there and play. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

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However, if you think about it, the decision to send Matthew Poitras to the World Juniors makes sense. When Team Canada announced its official roster, they only announced 12 forwards. There was always the possibility that someone in the NHL was going to be released. Canada’s hope from the beginning was that it was going to be Poitras or Zach Benson to center that number one line.

And as Friedman noted on the Jeff Marek Show, there was probably a negotiation happening between the Bruins and Hockey Canada to define what Poitras’s role was going to be. Because if he was going to be the 13th forward, he might as well stay in Boston and just play seven of the next 10 games for the Bruins.

However, if Poitras was going to have a bigger role (which it seems like he will), then he will be averaging the minutes he should over those potential seven games in the tournament and being a productive player.

Poitras made the team out of training camp and has 13 points in 27 games with the Bruins this season. He had five points (three goals, two assists) in his first six games. Though his pace slowed down, he has still been a productive forward for the Bruins this team.

However, since the NHL is a long season, this should give him the mental reset he needs to finish the season strong — especially given he is coming back to the Bruins once the tournament is over.

“You never want to leave the NHL, but I’m excited to get over there and play for my country,” Poitras told the media. “I’ll never complain about that. It’s a dream come true.”

The 2024 World Junior Championships begin December 26, with Canada taking on Finland.