When Morgan Geekie needed a new contract over the summer, the biggest question among fans and analysts – and maybe the Bruins themselves – was just how real his 2024-25 season was.
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Geekie started slow last year, getting healthy scratched five times in Boston’s first 16 games. Then, in the most pleasant surprise of an otherwise dismal Bruins season, he turned into one of the league’s hottest goal-scorers from Dec. 1 on. His 31 goals over the final 55 games were tied for third-most in the NHL in that time, trailing only Leon Draisaitl and linemate David Pastrnak. Geekie finished with 33 goals on the season, nearly doubling his previous career high.
When Geekie and the Bruins agreed to a six-year extension worth $5.5 million annually just before the start of free agency, it seemed fair, but also a bit of a gamble for general manager Don Sweeney. What if Geekie was just a product of playing with Pastrnak? What if his career-best 22% shooting percentage regressed to his previous career average that was almost half of that? What if last season was the outlier and Geekie was actually closer to the bottom-six forward he had been a couple years ago?
We probably didn’t spend enough time asking a different question: What if Geekie was just getting started? So far this season, that seems like the more relevant query, because Geekie is showing no signs of slowing down.
On Tuesday night, Geekie scored his eighth goal of the young season, burying a one-timer on the power play to give the Bruins some breathing room in the third period en route to a 5-2 win over the New York Islanders. He is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals, one behind league leaders Nathan MacKinnon, Jack Hughes, Cole Caufield and Pavel Dorofeyev. He enters Thursday’s home game against the Buffalo Sabres riding a five-game goal streak.
Geekie’s shooting percentage still seems a bit unsustainable. In fact, it’s jumped up to 32% this season. The league’s best goal-scorers generally land somewhere around 18-22% for the season. So, he’s not going to shoot 32% for the season. But what if he actually is a talented enough finisher to stay in that 18-22% range where he was last year?
Well, there would be reason to believe he can easily improve on last year’s 33 goals, then. Geekie started taking a lot more shots once he was put on a line with Pastrnak last season. This season, even though he was skating with Pastrnak from the start, he again started slow in the shot department. Geekie landed just seven shots on goal in the Bruins’ first seven games. He looked hesitant at times and also misfired on a few golden opportunities. During this five-game goal streak, Geekie has dialed in his aim and fired 18 shots on net.
These aren’t just easy tap-ins set up by Pastrnak either. Geekie has legitimate shooting talent that allows him to beat goalies from distance, as evidenced by the rocket he unleashed Tuesday. That thing came off his stick at 95.68 mph, making it the hardest shot of any goal scored in the NHL this season, according to NHL Edge.
It is also worth noting that the chemistry between Geekie and Pastrnak hasn’t quite gotten back to where it was the second half of last season just yet. Pastrnak has assisted on half of Geekie’s eight goals this season. Last year, he assisted on 21 of Geekie’s 33 goals, or 64%. Their 5-on-5 production is not yet close to where it was last year. When they’re on the ice together, the Bruins scored 4.19 goals per 60 minutes on 3.12 expected goals per 60 last season, but are at just 1.95 goals on 2.44 expected goals this year, according to Evolving-Hockey.
All of this is to say that while Geekie’s shooting percentage can and will drop, there is room for more shots and better 5-on-5 creation with Pastrnak that could offset that.
Pastrnak, who knows a thing or two about scoring goals, had high praise – and set a high bar – for Geekie Tuesday night.
“He has everything to score 50 in this league,” Pastrnak said of Geekie. “I keep telling him, keep reminding him he has a heck of a shot, and he has the goal-scorer instinct. So, he's gonna get it one day. The shot that he has, it's amazing. It's the best on our team. And we just need to get him the opportunities and keep reminding him to shoot more.”
Fifty??? It might sound crazy, but Geekie is on pace for 55 right now. Even if that pace slows, 40-plus seems well within reach. Regardless, if Geekie is anywhere in that neighborhood, there aren’t going to be any more questions about whether he’s worth the contract he signed in June.