Bruins Open To Moving Matthew Poitras

Just a few seasons ago, it looked like Matthew Poitras was going to be a key piece of Boston’s forward group for years to come.  But things haven’t played out that way and now, it appears they’ve deemed him expendable.  David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reports (Twitter link) that the Bruins are now willing to move Poitras as they look to bolster their roster for the stretch run.

The 21-year-old was a second-round pick by Boston back in 2022, going 54th overall and surprised many by making the NHL roster just one year later.  Poitras played in 33 games in 2023-24, picking up 15 points while also impressing at the World Juniors.  However, he needed season-ending shoulder surgery in the second half of the campaign and things have been trending in the wrong direction since then.

Last season, Poitras started the year with the big club but since he was now eligible to be sent to Providence in the minors, the Bruins elected to shuffle him back and forth a bit.  In the AHL, he was quite productive, picking up 41 points in 40 games, an especially impressive performance for a 20-year-old.  But that didn’t translate to much success with Boston as he was limited to just one goal and 10 assists in 31 games.

The dip in production saw Poitras lose his roster spot heading into training camp and he has played predominantly with Providence this season where his numbers have slipped; he has nine goals and 21 helpers in 47 games so far.  Meanwhile, he has only had one brief recall which came just before the Olympic break, scoring once in three games but he has been back in the minors since the start of the break.

Poitras changed agents earlier this season heading into his contract negotiations this summer where he’ll be a restricted free agent for the first time.  For now, he’s costing a very affordable $870K on the cap when he’s in the NHL.  This is his final season of waiver exemption, as well.

While his stock has undoubtedly fallen, young centers who have had some semblance of NHL success aren’t exactly easy to come by.  With that in mind, Poitras should still generate some strong interest if GM Don Sweeney decides to part with him to get a win-now piece to try to give them a push to maintain their playoff positioning.