The Boston Bruins have an open roster spot after waiving forward Riley Tufte over the weekend and sending him to AHL Providence. They have $1.2 million in cap space, according to PuckPedia. All signs seem to point to both being used to sign veteran forward Tyler Johnson, who has been with the team on a professional tryout (PTO) since the start of training camp.
Yet, Johnson hasn’t actually signed yet. He continued to practice with the team on Monday, but there was no announcement about a contract. So, what gives?
Well, there’s a couple reasons this might not be official yet. Let’s go back to a year ago at this time. Danton Heinen was in the same situation as Johnson, going through camp on a PTO, sticking around for the start of the regular season without a contract, and then finally signing a one-year deal just before he suited up for the Bruins’ ninth game of the season on Oct. 30.
And when I say just before, I mean just before. The contract got announced at 5 p.m. before Heinen made his season debut two hours later.
It wouldn’t be surprising if this plays out the exact same way with Johnson, with a contract getting announced the same day as his Bruins debut, whether that’s Tuesday against Philadelphia, Thursday in Carolina, or another upcoming game.
The reason to wait until the day of, at least from the Bruins’ perspective, is that they can incrementally bank more cap space each day they go without Johnson on the books, which helps down the line when it comes to something like potentially taking on salary at the trade deadline. So, if he’s playing on Tuesday, sign him on Tuesday, not Sunday or Monday.
The Bruins could use Johnson’s speed and offensive skill in their middle six, a group that has lacked both in the early going this season. At age 34, he may no longer be the kind of player who can solve the Bruins’ biggest question mark up front – second-line right wing – but it’s easy to envision him still helping the group overall.
Johnson tied for the team lead in preseason scoring with two points (one goal, one assist) in three games while playing up and down the lineup and at all three forward positions. His best game came at third-line center on a line with Trent Frederic and Justin Brazeau, which is also a spot where he could potentially slot in now if and when he signs.
Brazeau’s turn at second-line right wing
Speaking of both Justin Brazeau and the second-line right wing opening, it looks like he’ll be next up for a shot there after practicing with Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle on Monday.
Brazeau got off to a slow start this season and was a healthy scratch last Tuesday in Nashville, but he has responded well since then, scoring in each of the last two games and getting rewarded with a season-high 14:00 of ice time in Saturday’s 4-3 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Just his habits,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said when asked what has started to click for Brazeau. “His stick has been really good offensively, but more so defensively, causing turnovers in the D-zone, causing turnovers on the forecheck, and then getting to the areas that he has success in. His goal is the best example of it, but on the power play too, like he was owning the net-front. He knows what he is, and he's played to what he is.”
The Bruins started Saturday’s game with Matt Poitras at second-line right wing, which Montgomery said worked “fine,” but then a slew of penalties led to a couple shifts with Poitras centering the third line, and Montgomery said he liked the way that looked more. He also liked how Brazeau looked on a few shifts with Marchand and Coyle, hence why he is now giving that combination a longer look.
Geekie needs to ‘play better’
The first player who got a chance at second-line right wing this season was Morgan Geekie. He did not take advantage of the opportunity thanks to a very slow start.
Not only has Geekie slid down the lineup over the last couple weeks, but he no longer even seems to be a lock to be in the lineup every night, especially if Johnson signs this week. Geekie, who has no goals and one assist in eight games, was already a healthy scratch once this season, and he played a team-low 9:53 on Saturday.
In his first season in Boston last year, the 26-year-old Geekie had a career-high 17 goals and 39 points. Both he and the team anticipated another step forward this season, but that obviously has not happened yet.
Asked what Geekie needs to do to get back to where he was last season, Montgomery gave a short, simple answer.
“Play better,” he said.
Montgomery was then asked what specific things go into that.
“Being relentless, being on top of pucks, knowing who you are, playing to your strengths, not being results-oriented,” Montgomery said. “I talked about it earlier. There's individuals still that are focused on results, and you can't. Results should not factor into your preparation. It's human nature that it does. I think if someone is in a job and they're expecting a promotion, and they're focused on a promotion, and they're not doing their daily task until that promotion, well, you're not going to be doing your job. People keep evaluating you, whether you're an athlete or whatever job you have.”
The implication there seems to be that perhaps Geekie was more focused on his pending promotion to second-line right wing than on the work that was required to earn his stay there.
Regardless of whether Geekie gets another shot on the second line or not, the Bruins could really benefit from him finding his game. He was a good third-liner for them last year, and even if that’s his ceiling, that’s still a player who would be valuable to a team that needs third-line help as well. And if he doesn’t find his game, then he could very well end up as an odd man out if and when Johnson signs.
Montgomery hoping ‘relentless’ Bruins emerge
Sitting at 4-4-1 (the same record as four other teams in their own division, by the way), the Bruins obviously have a lot of things they still need to improve. But asked if there was any one thing in particular he really wants to see improve, Montgomery wasted no time in answering.
“Our puck pressure,” Montgomery said. “Our puck pressure last game was the best it's been, but it's still not where it needs to be. I would not come close to describing our team as relentless, and that's where we want to get to. It's more forwards working in the offensive zone and the neutral zone so the D-men can have better gaps. Forwards back off, D-men have to back off. The third period, the last 15 minutes in the third period, we backed off. That's not who we want to be.
“…Wherever the puck is, someone's gotta be pressuring the puck. Just can't let them carry the puck for 10 to 15 feet. It should never happen with the way we play. And we just gotta get better at that, of having a relentless pursuit attitude. We did a lot of really good things in the first two periods, and it led to a lot of – we had our most grade-A scoring chances 5-on-5 in a game.”
Monsters, Inc.
After Monday’s practice, the Bruins made their annual Halloween visits to Boston Children’s Hospital and Mass General for Children. That, of course, meant costumes. This year’s theme was the 2001 Disney Pixar film “Monsters, Inc.” Here are the photos, including Brad Marchand as Mike Wazowski, Jeremy Swayman and then Charlie Coyle as Sulley (did they share the costume???), Matt Poitras as Celia Mae, and Trent Frederic as Roz.