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Roster moves highlight Game 82 planning |
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Ty Anderson
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Tuesday morning did not come with a morning skate — or even a morning media availability for that matter — for the Bruins.
With this being the second leg of a traveling back-to-back that kicked off with a 2-0 shutout loss in Washington, that’s not surprising. But it did create some obvious intrigue as to how the Bruins will approach the final game of the regular season, with the Bruins still in control of their own destiny in a head-to-head with the straight-up bad Senators.
Would the Bruins invent a ‘bug’ or litany of nagging ailments and load themselves up on emergency recalls and ice a preseason-esque roster and avoid any potential repeats of last year’s disaster of first-line center and team captain Patrice Bergeron getting hurt right before the postseason? Or would the Bruins go full tilt in pursuit of their second straight division crown?
Based on Tuesday’s AHL transaction wire, the Bruins will opt for the latter, as the Bruins made just one roster move for the season finale, with veteran journeyman Jayson Megna summoned up to the NHL.
A 34-year-old forward who can play both center and wing, Megna’s move to the NHL comes in the midst of an AHL campaign that’s included 18 goals and 51 points in 67 outings for the P-Bruins. Megna’s 18 goals are tied for the third-most among all Providence skaters this season, while his 51 points are tied for the second-most among all Providence skaters.
Megna has also struck with five shorthanded goals on the year, which is both tops among the P-Bruins and all AHL skaters.
A veteran of 203 NHL games since 2013, Megna spent the majority of the 2022-23 season with Anaheim, with two goals and eight points in 41 games for the Ducks. Megna actually began the 2022-23 NHL season with the Avalanche, and had 20 hits and a 50.7 faceoff percentage in 14 games with Colorado, but was claimed off waivers by the Ducks in December.
Whether or not this is the Bruins simply rewarding a good, veteran soldier with what could be one final NHL game or getting a look at a potential fourth-line element for the playoffs, Megna is expected to slot in as a fourth-line type.
To make room for Megna, the Bruins have assigned Johnny Beecher to Providence.
This feels like yet another case of the Bruins — an obvious money-in, money-out kind of team because of their cap situation — using Beecher’s contract to their advantage more than anything else, as Beecher can be shuttled back and forth from Boston to Providence without needing waivers.
The 23-year-old Beecher has posted two goals and three points, along with 23 hits and nine blocks, in 13 games with the Bruins since being called back up to the NHL club in March. Beecher also won 65 of his 114 total faceoffs on his latest NHL recall, good for a 57 percent success rate at the dot.
But the real interesting move for the Bruins came on the backend, with defenseman Derek Forbort assigned to the AHL on a long-term injury conditioning loan.
It’s been almost two and a half months since Bruins defenseman Forbort has suited up in game action. Battling multiple injuries all year, Forbort’s struggles were downright undeniable, and ultimately led to the Bruins’ deadline day move for then-Columbus defenseman Andrew Peeke. Speaking after the trade for Peeke, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney seemed to indicate — and indicate strongly at that — that Forbort’s season was over.
But then came the Tuesday morning move down to Providence, and Forbort was even on the ice for Providence’s practice, according to Mark Divver.
What’s interesting about this is that when Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery was first asked for an update on the 32-year-old Forbort, Montgomery was quick to note that Forbort wasn’t even in the week-to-week stage of his recovery from an undisclosed surgery. But when Forbort remained on the ice — even in a non-contact sweater — last weekend, Montgomery seemed to walk back those comments just a bit and opened the door for Forbort to become an option for his club.
“Sometime down the road, hopefully, he’s a possibility,” Montgomery said back on Apr. 12.
Forbort’s move to Providence does open the door for the 6-foot-3 defenseman to potentially play in games and test his recovery, and there’s some obvious math at play there. For one, the P-Bruins have two more games on their regular-season schedule, whereas the Bruins have just one. Providence’s final two games are this Friday and Sunday, too, while the B’s wrap things up tonight. That’s an extra three days of potential on-ice work and ramp-up for Forbort.
There’s also the cap gymnastics involved, as the Bruins currently have Forbort on the long-term injured reserve and almost certainly wouldn’t have the space to activate his $3 million for Game 82, even if he were considered a legitimate option now compared to say Friday and/or Sunday. In the playoffs, the cap is not an issue for the Bruins.
Playing in Providence would also give the Bruins an up-close, more consequence-free chance to get a look at where Forbort is at. As previously noted, Forbort’s on-ice struggles upon his return back to the Boston lineup on Jan. 20 through Mar. 2 were noticeable, with Forbort on the ice for a defense-high 3.99 goals against per 60 over that 15-game sample.
With Forbort down, the Bruins have relied on a left-side rotation that has featured Matt Grzelcyk, Hampus Lindholm, Parker Wotherspoon, and Mason Lohrei (since sent to Providence), and have even moved the right-shooting Kevin Shattenkirk to the left side at various points during the stretch run.
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