After going 2-1-1 on their recent four-game homestand, the Boston Bruins will hit the road for a trip to Canada to play the Montreal Canadiens. In this edition of Bruins News & Rumors, they will be heading up north minus one defenseman, a trade deadline acquisition will make his Bruins’ debut, a prospect got called up from Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL), and more.
Grzelcyk Ruled Out vs. Montreal, Peeke to Make Bruins Debut
After practice Wednesday (March 13) at Warrior Ice Arena, second-year head coach Jim Montgomery said that defenseman Matt Grzelcyk was not traveling to Montreal as he was dealing with an illness. At the trade deadline, General Manager (GM) Don Sweeney acquired Andrew Peeke from the Columbus Blue Jackets, and as part of the package going back was defenseman Jakub Zboril from Providence. Peeke will make his Black and Gold debut against the Canadiens according to Montgomery. What will Peeke bring to the Bruins? He described himself following the deal.
“I think a big-body defenseman, likes to play physical, work hard in the corners, battle, win those, and use my feet and move the puck up the ice,” said Peeke. “Defending has always been one of my stronger suits as a player and that’s something I’ve taken pride in since coming to the NHL level is being a really good defenseman.”
Things have been a struggle this season for the 34th overall pick by the Blue Jackets in the 2016 Entry Draft with just one goal and seven assists in 23 games. The 25-year-old from Parkland, Florida has two years remaining on his contract that carries an average annual value (AAV) of $2.75 million. A Peeke and Parker Wortherspoon defensive pairing against the Canadiens would be an interesting one for sure.
John Beecher Call up on an Emergency Basis
Grzelcyk is not the only Bruin dealing with an illness as Charlie Coyle is also sick. He missed practice Wednesday and is questionable to play in Montreal, as is veteran James van Riemsdyk. As insurance, the Bruins called up John Beecher from the AHL on an emergency basis.
“Nobody wants to leave their teammates or the team they’re with the whole first part of the year,” Beecher said. “But a lot of good can come out of it. I was able to go down (to Providence)….. get back to my game and get some more confidence.”
It is somewhat surprising that Beecher has been down with Providence as long as he has. He brings more to the table on the fourth line than Jesper Boqvist and Beecher is very good at the face-off dot and a strong penalty killer. He played well enough to stick around this season.
Elliotte Friedman Says Ullmark Expected to Be Traded at the Deadline
There was a lot of trade chatter leading up to the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline on March 8 about Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark. On his 32 Thoughts podcast, insider Elliotte Friedman said that the 2022-23 Vezina Trophy winner thought he was going to get moved by Sweeney.
“I heard it was a really emotional week for him behind the scenes. He made it very clear he didn’t want to leave. But I think he was expecting that he would be traded. The thing is here is that — I always say this. It’s a player’s right. If you get it in your contract and you have a no-trade clause — it is your right to say no. And I believe he exercised that.”
Breaking up the top tandem never happened at the trade deadline, but that doesn’t mean that Sweeney won’t explore doing it again over the summer. Jeremy Swayman is in line for a big payday with the Bruins, who can turn to prospect Brandon Bussi in Providence or sign a backup in free agency cheaper than the $5 million AVV Ullmark carries for 2024-25.
What’s Next for the Bruins
Boston will fly home after playing Montreal to host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night (March 16), then host the Ottawa Senators on March 19, then the New York Rangers on March 21. Currently, they are three points behind the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division and on a collision course with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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