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Making sense of Bruins’ final roster cuts of training camp
The Bruins made their final roster cuts on Sunday afternoon now that the preseason wrapped.
With regular-season hockey just a few days away, the Bruins made the final round of roster cuts Sunday, waiving four players while assigning another to Providence.
Forwards Matej Blumel and Alex Steeves, defenseman Jonathan Aspirot, and goalie Michael DiPietro were placed on waivers. All four cleared waivers and will report to Providence.
The Bruins also assigned Matt Poitras to Providence, with the young center exempt from the waiver wire.
Boston had until 5 p.m. on Monday to get their roster down to 23 players, with the Bruins seemingly settling all business a day earlier.
Here is a look at Boston’s projected Opening Night lineup:
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Morgan Geekie – Elias Lindholm – David Pastrnak
Pavel Zacha – Casey Mittelstadt – Viktor Arvidsson
Tanner Jeannot – Fraser Minten – Mikey Eyssimont
Marat Khusnutdinov – Sean Kuraly – Mark Kastelic
Johnny Beecher, Jeffrey Viel
Mason Lohrei – Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm – Andrew Peeke
Nikita Zadorov – Henri Jokiharju
Jordan Harris
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo
As for Boston’s roster decisions, a few things stand out about how Marco Sturm, Don Sweeney, and the Bruins’ top staff made the final calls on this personnel grouping.
Blumel the top surprise
While Poitras stuck around during camp, the writing was on the wall that the Bruins were likely going to start the 21-year-old pivot in Providence, given both the heavy minutes available to him in the AHL and the team’s preference toward keeping him at center.
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Poitras will be given ample time to build some momentum down in Providence and should get a call up at some point if he produces — or if Boston’s middle-six grouping lags.
Boston’s decision to expose Blumel to waivers is a bit more of a surprise, given both his upside and the Bruins’ evident need for some middle-six scoring punch.
The AHL’s leading goal-scorer last year with 39 tallies, Blumel earned an extended look during preseason action. The 25-year-old winger played in four games and leading the team in shots (14) and individual scoring chances (13).
Blumel scored a goal against the Rangers on Sept. 23, but cooled off as the preseason carried on.
Speaking after practice on Monday, Sturm said that the Bruins wanted to see more tangible production from Blumel and another AHL scorer in Alex Steeves during preseason action.
“The time was running out and all those guys, they just probably didn’t give us enough of a scoring threat, enough offense that we wanted,” Sturm said. “But that doesn’t mean they’re done. The message today, we talked to all of them today, just to go down there … the work doesn’t stop, right?
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“You want to be ready. Because I’m pretty sure that the opportunity will come again for those guys, and I just want to make sure they’re going to be ready when they when they get the call up.
DiPietro can’t leapfrog Korpisalo
One of the top storylines to follow during camp was the battle for the team’s backup goalie spot between Joonas Korpisalo and Michael DiPietro.
The Bruins likely would have welcomed a scenario where the 26-year-old DiPietro — who took home AHL Goalie of the Year honors last season — pushed Korpisalo and prompted a roster reshuffle of some sort.
But DiPietro didn’t kick the door down during preseason play, sporting an .833 save percentage during his appearances this fall. Korpisalo has been sharper over this same stretch, closing out his preseason slate last Thursday by stopping 33 of 34 shots against the Capitals.
“We know Mike is an excellent goalie,” Sturm said. “We don’t want to lose him. But the other two guys were great.”
Minten, Beecher, and Viel make the cut
One Bruins youngster did make the team on Sunday, as Fraser Minten presumably secured Boston’s third-line center role after a strong preseason.
The 21-year-old center stuffed the stat sheet this fall by drawing four penalties, winning over 50 percent of his faceoffs, and recording the primary helper on a Nikita Zadorov goal in Saturday’s preseason finale against the Rangers.
“I expected myself to come in and take this spot, so I’m happy about it. And like you said, ‘Keep going,’” Minten said.
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A pair of bottom-six players also made the team in Johnny Beecher and Jeffrey Viel.
Beecher appeared to be on the outside looking in after being placed on Boston’s “Group B” personnel during camp alongside other Providence skaters, but seemingly saved his spot after scoring a goal against the Flyers on Sept. 27 while showcasing his talents on the penalty kill.
“He gives us another extra element we might need on the kill and also on face offs,” Sturm said. “And that’s why we decided he’s still on the roster.”
Viel was also not expected to be a roster lock entering camp, but the 28-year-old forward was often a wrecking ball out on the ice, while also potting a goal on Sept. 27.
The Bruins should have no shortage of pugnaciousness on their roster between players like Mark Kastelic, Nikita Zadorov, and Mikey Eyssimont, but it’s clear that the Bruins value Viel’s willingness to scrap on what looks to be a scrappy roster this fall. Viel recorded 148 penalty minutes with Providence this past season.
“We felt like he did his job exactly the way we wanted him to play, and also did his job exactly in Game 1 and Game 2. … He’s probably not a regular, but he will be,” Sturm said of Viel. “He’s a good guy to have to throw an in some games and play some tough opponents.”
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