If you had told the average fan at the TD Garden two years ago that Morgan Geekie would be trading goal-scoring titles with Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl in 2025, you would have been laughed out of the building.
Geekie was viewed as a sturdy, middle-six utility forward — a guy who could grind along the boards, win a few draws, and chip in secondary scoring. But the narrative has shifted dramatically. We are not just watching a role player on a hot streak; we are watching the calculated emergence of a lethal perimeter threat.
The sample size is no longer small enough to ignore. Geekie hasn’t just found a new gear; he has convincingly altered the trajectory of his career and, by extension, the Boston Bruins’ offensive blueprint.
The Numbers Don’t Lie: A Statistical Anomaly No More
To understand the current dominance, we have to look at the breakout of the 2024-25 campaign. Coming off a respectable but modest 17-goal season the year prior, Geekie exploded for 33 goals and 57 points in 77 games. At the time, skeptics pointed to a high shooting percentage or favorable puck luck.
However, the start of the 2025-26 season has silenced the “fluke” narrative. Through the first 27 games of this season, Geekie has potted 20 goals, tying him with Colorado’s superstar Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead.
Let’s contextualize that production. We aren’t just talking about a good month. If you look at the calendar year spanning from late November 2024 to November 2025, the NHL’s top three goal scorers are Leon Draisaitl (50), Morgan Geekie (49), and David Pastrnak (46).
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Geekie admitted to the press that seeing his name alongside those household giants feels “weird,” but his play suggests he belongs there. He recently joined elite franchise company, becoming just the 12th player in Bruins history to score 20 goals within the first 27 games of a season. The only players to do that more frequently than Geekie? Cam Neely and Phil Esposito. That is the stratosphere he is currently operating in.
The Sweeney Gamble and the Expansion Shuffle
Geekie’s arrival at this summit was far from linear. His path is a case study in development patience and opportunity. He was left unprotected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2021 Expansion Draft and subsequently not qualified by the Seattle Kraken, hitting the open market as a free agent.
Bruins general manager Don Sweeney deserves credit for the pro scouting on this one. When Boston signed him in the summer of 2023, the front office identified an asset that was being underutilized. Sweeney went on record noting Geekie’s “really good release as a right shot,” believing that if elevated from fourth-line checking duties to a scoring role, the production would follow.
That evaluation has paid dividends. Geekie has been granted the ice time and the linemates necessary to create offense. Perhaps the most telling sign of the coaching staff’s trust occurred recently when David Pastrnak was sidelined. Rather than shuffling the lines to hide the loss, the Bruins placed the offensive burden squarely on Geekie’s shoulders. He responded by scoring two goals against the Detroit Red Wings to secure a win. He has even taken over Pastrnak’s office — the left flank on the first power-play unit — a spot reserved for elite one-timers.
Earning the Paycheck: The Anti-Complacency Factor
This past June, Geekie secured his financial future, signing a six-year, $33 million contract carrying a $5.5 million average annual value. In professional sports, the “fat and happy” syndrome is a real concern for management. Players secure the bag and their intensity drops by five percent.
According to Bruins assistant coach Jay Leach, Geekie has done the exact opposite. Leach, who coached a struggling Geekie in Seattle, noted that the forward returned to training camp this year noticeably faster and more conditioned.
Leach described Geekie’s current form as a testament to work ethic, noting that he is the “complete opposite” of a player looking to rest on his laurels. This internal drive is likely fueled by his early struggles — including being healthy scratched multiple times at the start of his breakout 2024-25 season — which forced him to rebuild his game from the ground up.
The Lumber Legacy: Engineering the Shot
The most fascinating aspect of Geekie’s rise is the mechanics of his greatest weapon: his shot. While modern players often rely on the technology of whippy, composite sticks to generate velocity, Geekie’s foundation is old school.
Growing up in Manitoba, Geekie’s father didn’t buy top-of-the-line gear. Instead, he sourced broken, wooden sticks from former NHL veteran Pat Falloon. Specifically, these were Sherwood 7000 FeatherLites — heavy lumber compared to today’s standards. Because his father was a lefty and Morgan a righty, his dad would cut down Falloon’s discarded sticks for Morgan to use in kindergarten.
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There was a catch, however. His father implemented a strict rule: no slap shots. Morgan was not allowed to wind up until he had mastered the mechanics of the wrist shot, a restriction that lasted until he was playing U-18 hockey.
That upbringing forced Geekie to develop significant forearm strength and a quick release to move the puck with those heavy sticks. Today, that translates to a deceptively heavy shot that beats goalies clean from distance. It’s a skill set that even Pastrnak acknowledges, recently stating that Geekie has “everything to score 50 in this league.”
The Verdict
The Bruins are a team constantly looking to extend their contention window, and finding an elite scorer on the free-agent scrap heap is the kind of maneuver that keeps franchises alive. Geekie is no longer a depth piece; he is a primary offensive engine.
With a heavy shot forged by wooden sticks and a work ethic that survived expansion drafts and healthy scratches, Geekie has arrived. And if the last 12 months are any indication, he isn’t going anywhere.
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