The Boston Bruins announced what is expected to be their final round of cuts Sunday, waiving four players while also assigning forward Matt Poitras to Providence.
The four players placed on waivers are forwards Matej Blumel and Alex Steeves, defenseman Jonathan Aspirot, and goalie Michael DiPietro. The Bruins can assign them to Providence on Monday if they go unclaimed.
Teams have until Monday at 5 p.m. to get down to a 23-man, cap-compliant season-opening roster. After Sunday's moves, the Bruins are now there a day early. Barring a surprise on Monday, they would seem to be set.
The one mild surprise here is Blumel. The AHL's leading scorer from last season, Blumel opened training camp on the Bruins' second line and drew high praise from new coach Marco Sturm. He fell off a bit as camp went on and slipped down the lineup, but he still seemed unlikely to be cut. Obviously, the Bruins didn't see enough, though, and are willing to risk losing him on waivers.
Poitras also may come as a surprise to some fans. The 21-year-old needs to play every night as he continues to develop, though, and Saturday's preseason finale made it clear that he wasn't in Sturm's opening night plans. Being an extra forward and sitting in the press box wouldn't do Poitras much good.
The Bruins will carry two extra forwards: Johnny Beecher and Jeffrey Viel. Beecher had a rough first preseason game and got demoted to "Group B" for a couple practices, but he bounced back nicely and ultimately earned his way back into Sturm's good graces. He can provide depth as a defensive forward and penalty-killer who can win faceoffs.
Viel seemed like a long shot to make the team at the start of camp, but he played well in preseason action and competes hard. He's very physical and always willing to drop the gloves, so it's possible another team in need of that skillset may have claimed him had the Bruins put him on waivers.
Perhaps the most notable player to win a spot in the opening night lineup is 21-year-old Fraser Minten, who won the third-line center job with a strong camp that was capped off by a really good performance Saturday.
DiPietro will be interesting to monitor on the waiver wire. After his strong season in Providence last year, there have been reports throughout the summer about other teams potentially having interest in him. The Bruins are hoping he'll clear waivers so he can be their No. 1 in Providence once again, but there is at least a chance they lose him.
Here is the Bruins' expected opening night lineup following Sunday's cuts:
FORWARDS (14)
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
DEFENSE (7)
Mason Lohrei - Charlie McAvoy
Hampus Lindholm - Andrew Peeke
Nikita Zadorov - Henri Jokiharju
Jordan Harris
GOALIES (2)
Jeremy Swayman
Joonas Korpisalo