Bruins place Johnny Beecher on waivers

The Boston Bruins placed forward Johnny Beecher on the NHL waiver wire on Monday, and he was the only player waived across the entire league.

Teams will now have 24 hours to place claims on the 24-year-old from New York, who appeared in six NHL games this season with a goal and no assists. Beecher was a regular for the Bruins a year ago, when he played 78 regular season games while putting up 3 goals and 8 assists for 11 points.

If he clears, Beecher will be assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate Providence Bruins, where he recorded 8 points in 17 games in 2023-24.

The Bruins are doing their best to work through a difficult rash of injuries, as they’re currently without forwards Viktor Arvidsson, Elias Lindholm and Casey Mittelstadt as well as star defenseman Charlie McAvoy.

Earlier Monday, the Bruins recalled forwards Riley Tufte and Matej Blumel from Providence to round out their lineup.

The red-hot Bruins have put together an 8-2-0 stretch in their past 10 games that has propelled them to the first place spot in the Atlantic Division with a record of 12-8-0. It’s a bit of a tenuous lead as just four points separate Boston from the fifth-place Lightning, but the Bruins have positioned themselves well nonetheless.

Boston is set to host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday night in a showdown between two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference currently. The Bruins got the better of the Canes once already at TD Garden this year in a 2-1 victory on November 1.

Following Monday’s game, the Bruins will hit the road for a West Coast road trip that will see them take on all three of the NHL’s California-based squads prior to a stop in New York to face the Islanders before they finally return home on November 28 for a Black Friday showdown with the Rangers.