Bruins’ Geekie discusses Boston future after breakout year

Opportunity was what drew Morgan Geekie to Boston when he decided to join the Bruins on a two-year, $4 million contract in 2023.

After thriving on Seattle's fourth line in 2022-23, Geekie saw a chance to move up a line and expand his game on what was a cap-wrecked Bruins club. But nobody could've expected what followed, really. And after back-to-back career seasons in a Bruins sweater, including a career-high 33 goals this past season, the 26-year-old Geekie has set himself up for what will certainly be the biggest payday of his NHL career.

It's just a question as to whether or not it'll come in Boston.

"I'll leave it up to my agent and Don [Sweeney] and Cam [Neely] and just go about my business, and things will play out the way they're going to play out," Geekie, a pending restricted free agent, said on break-up day. "I love playing in Boston. My family loves it here. It's one of those things that I really hope works out and we'll just see where it goes."

Geekie's status as a pending restricted free agent opposed to an unrestricted free agent obviously plays to the Black and Gold's advantage. If someone pursues Geekie, it's going to be through an offer sheet, and give the Bruins either the opportunity to match or accept draft pick compensation. That also means that Geekie would have to sign the offer sheet presented to him, which while possible, doesn't sound like something he would prefer to do if given the choice this summer.

“I mean anytime you can stick around, like I said, I love it here, and I'd love to be here as long as I can, so that's definitely a goal," Geekie noted. "But especially with a family now, and being able to be in one spot would be awesome, but like I said, it's a business at the end of the day, and people are going to have their opinions, and they're going to decide what they want to decide, but it was up to me. I'd love to stay as long as I can.

"I can't say enough good things about the organization, the guys, and the culture here. So, definitely, I would love to stay for as long as I could.” 

Of course, the aforementioned career year 'complicates' things. Only 25 players scored more goals than Geekie this season. His 22 percent shooting percentage was the second-highest among all NHL players with at least 150 shots in 2024-25 (only Brayden Point's 22.2 percent was higher). And Geekie's 2.36 points per 60 minutes of five-on-five play finished the year tied with NATHAN MACKINNON for the 22nd-best rate among all forwards (minimum 1,000 five-on-five minutes played).

Projecting Geekie to be that guy moving forward is a difficult task, and Geekie is seemingly aware of those flags around his game.

"I'm sure people thought it was a fluke, maybe," Geekie, who came to Boston with 22 goals and 63 points in 180 games over four seasons between Carolina and Seattle, admitted. "I know my shooting percentage is higher than normal. I think that's more of a high-quality shot thing. I think I have the asset to shoot the puck as well as I do.

"I think up until this year, I was a little hesitant to use it, especially playing with guys that you're normally used to deferring to and it's tough not to pass to [David Pastrnak] most times. But I mean, he's made it super easy for me to be able to be in the position to take shots, and then to have the confidence to shoot the puck and not be afraid to take that next step when it comes to those opportunities."

The Bruins certainly have the cap space to keep Geekie around. With their core pieces locked up, the B's enter the 2025 offseason with about $28 million plus in projected cap space. And with a motivated Geekie ready to continue to raise the bar for his own game in pursuit of a Stanley Cup.

"I think my game is in a great spot," Geekie said. "I mean, I think it's good confidence wise, for sure. I think for me, just continuing to grow. I think every player in here scores 10. They want 20. Score 20, you want 30. It's just one of those things where it's like, I know 30 is a great accomplishment. But I think for me as a player, there's always the urge to do more.

"Whether the urge is scoring 40 goals, or it's being able to take face offs as a centerman and play that role for the team, I think the goal at the end of the year is to win the Stanley Cup. I think anything other than that at this point is a failure, for sure. I think with a storied franchise like this, it's not about the individual accomplishments as much as it is the team game. You see the accomplishments that guys have had in here throughout the last couple years. I'm sure they trade it all for a chance to win the Cup."