Bruins lose defenseman to waiver wire

The defensive depth for Marco Sturm's Bruins took a hit Wednesday, with defenseman Vladislav Kolyachonok re-claimed off waivers by the Stars.

Kolyachonok's move back to Dallas comes just over a month after the Bruins claimed him away from Dallas, and after just two appearances with the Bruins prior to the club's decision to place the 24-year-old on waivers on Tuesday afternoon.

In his two games with Boston, which came in their first game before the Christmask break and first game after the break, Kolyachonok blocked three shots and drew a penalty. At the time of his move back to the waiver wire, though, the 6-foot-2 Kolyachonok had been a healthy scratch in 10 straight games for the Black and Gold.

Prior to coming to Boston, Kolyachonok posted one goal and three points, along with a plus-3 rating, in 11 games for the Stars. Kolyachonok also posted 10 blocks and five hits, while Dallas held a plus-8 differential in scoring chances and plus-12 differential in high-danger scoring chances with him on the ice at five-on-five play.

The B's decision to waive Kolyachonok now could be telling for a few reasons, too.

The first could be as simple as the Bruins deciding to do Kolyachonok a solid and place him on waivers with the Bruins in Dallas. Kolyachonok had played with Dallas prior to joining the Bruins, and perhaps they knew that Dallas would place a claim on him had they placed him on waivers. Otherwise, it's somewhat odd timing in the sense that the Bruins are without Henri Jokiharju (family matter) and that Andrew Peeke (lower body) came into Tuesday's game as a game-time decision.

The other, however, could be related to Jordan Harris.

Undergoing surgery for an ankle fracture back in October, Harris was given a two-month recovery window. We've since blown by that, and Harris has been skating in recent weeks. If he is indeed ready to come back, the Bruins would need to create a roster spot for him. The Bruins already freed up roster spot with Jeffrey Viel shipped to Anaheim last week, but another would've been needed to get Harris off the injured list.

The Bruins will get back to work Thursday night against the Golden Knights.