For the second time this season, the Bruins have placed veteran defenseman Mike Reilly on waivers for purpose of assignment to the minors.

Back on the market and officially available to 31 other NHL teams for nothing in return between now and 2 p.m., the Bruins’ decision to put the 29-year-old back on waivers comes with his options down to the minors officially expiring, as it’s been a month (and 10 games) since Reilly last cleared waivers.

In action for 10 games this season, the 6-foot-1 Reilly has totaled one assist and 12 shots on goal this year, and has gone nine straight games without a point since recording an assist in Boston’s Opening Night victory.

Reilly’s jump back to the waiver wire also comes after appearances in three straight games for the Bruins following Derek Forbort’s injury. with a minus-2 rating, one penalty, four shots, and nine hits over that span.

Footing has been a noticeable issue for Reilly this season, as he’s bounced in and out of the lineup, and has played all over the depth chart. Reilly’s most common pairing partner was Jakub Zboril, as the two played over 47 five-on-five minutes together, but neither played particularly thrived on that pairing, and it was borderline abandoned by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery in Monday’s victory over the Blues.

On the books with a $3 million cap hit though 2023-24, the Bruins are once again hoping that someone out there is willing to take a chance on Reilly and free that money off their books.

There’s a seemingly better chance of that happening now than when they first put Reilly on waivers prior to the start of the season, as there’s teams out there who are either dealing with injuries or in need of some backend pop. A couple of teams that could stick out on that front include the Buffalo Sabres and Ottawa Senators. The Sens, of course, were the team that traded Reilly to the Bruins ahead of the 2021 trade deadline.

The B’s decision to waive Reilly also comes with Charlie McAvoy set to rejoin the Boston lineup, and with the looming salary cap impacts of that decision hanging over the club.

Should Reilly get claimed by a team, the Bruins will have enough cap space to activate McAvoy without any issues. Should Reilly go unclaimed, however, the next move for the Bruins will likely involve moving Derek Forbort to the long-term injured reserve to essentially kick the can of a cap-clearing move down the road.