Considering the roster turnover from last season, it’s surprising to see the Boston Bruins on top in the Atlantic Division and the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break. For them to be in the current position that they’re in, they need contributions from more than their top players and that certainly has been the case for second-year head coach Jim Montgomery.
You know what you are going to get from David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy, and Hampus Lindholm, but it’s been the other players who have stepped up through the first 49 games of the 2023-24 season that have been somewhat of a surprise. Here are three Bruins who have been a big surprise this season and played a role in their 31-9-9 record.
James van Riemsdyk
Last summer, general manager (GM) Don Sweeney did not have a ton of cap space to work with when it came to re-signing not only his free agents but free agents in general. He went bargain shopping and got veteran James van Riemsdyk to sign a one-year deal for $1 million. What a deal this is turning into.
In 45 games this season, the former Philadelphia Flyers forward has eight goals and 24 assists with a plus/minus of plus-8. His biggest contributions are coming on the power play where he has done a nice job of being a net-front presence and creating goals with his passing or finishing himself. He has three game-winning goals and five of his eight goals have come on the man-advantage. He has been a huge addition in all situations for Boston.
Morgan Geekie
The Seattle Kraken decided to not give Morgan Geekie a qualifying offer as a restricted free agent (RFA) which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) and gave him the ability to sign with any team. Sweeney wasted little time in signing Geekie and agreeing to a deal on the first day of free agency.
Most of the deals handed out by Sweeney were one-year deals, but Geekie signed for two years with an average annual value (AAV) of $2 million. He has been good moving up and down the lineup for Montgomery and his flexibility of being able to slide into the middle and play on the wing has been huge. He has been inconsistent at times, but he had eight goals and 14 assists with a plus-10. He is well on his way to career highs in goals, assists, and points while settling into the middle of the lineup for the Black and Gold.
Matthew Poitras
Coming out of training camp, Matthew Poitras earned his spot for the first nine games, but then the Bruins were faced with a decision on the 2022 second-round draft pick. He was not eligible to go to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) so their only decision was to keep him in Boston or send him to his junior team, the Guelph Storm in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). They chose the first one and it’s been a quick transition from the OHL to the NHL for the 54th overall pick in Montreal in the 2022 Entry Draft.
His talent and skill were never the question, the biggest question was whether or not he could play in the NHL with his size just 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds. He proved in the preseason that it wouldn’t be an issue and it hasn’t been. In 33 games, he has five goals and 10 assists, but it’s been his playing-making ability and he’s not the fastest player, but he makes a lot more positive plays than negative. There is still a lot of learning and growing pains he’s going to go through, but the Bruins have a good one in Poitras.
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It’s safe to say that the Bruins are one of the biggest surprises this season in the NHL at the All-Star Break. Things will get tougher over the final two-plus months of the season heading into the playoffs, which is where all eyes will shift to after their stunning first-round exit last season at the hands of the Florida Panthers. This is a different team, but the expectations are and will still be the same for Boston.
