Whether it’s massaging the daily cap or a sign of another move or two to come, the Bruins stayed busy Sunday with two players reassigned to AHL Providence by Bruins general manager Don Sweeney.
The moves will feature a departure from the B’s forward group and their defense, too, with winger Jesper Boqvist and defenseman Ian Mitchell sent down to Providence.
Bruce Bennett/Getty ImagesNEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 05: Jesper Boqvist #70 of the Boston Bruins skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on October 05, 2023 in New York City. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Boqvist’s move back to the minors comes after the 25-year-old was recalled from the AHL last Tuesday ahead of the B’s travel to Newark for their Wednesday head-to-head with the Devils.
The left-shooting Boqvist did not skate in Wednesday’s overtime loss to the Devils, but got in for Friday’s showdown with the Islanders, and finished with a minus-1 rating, a minor penalty taken, and one faceoff win 4:47 of time on ice. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery outright benched Boqvist after he was on the ice for the Simon Holmstrom goal that gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead in the second period of play.
Boqvist has made two NHL appearances for the Bruins this season, and has logged a combined 10:49 over that two-game run, with one hit and zero shots on goal.
The Swedish-born forward has appeared in 191 NHL games between Boston and New Jersey.
Dec 9, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Ian Mitchell (14) and Arizona Coyotes center Alexander Kerfoot (15) battle for position during the second period at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)
Mitchell, meanwhile, was sent down to Providence after serving as the Black and Gold’s defensive healthy scratch for the last two games, with his last appearance coming back on Dec. 13 against New Jersey.
The righty-shooting Mitchell finished that contest with two hits and a blocked shot in 19:26, and has recorded two assists in 12 NHL games overall this season.
On a league-minimum contract, Mitchell beat out Jakub Zboril (among others) for the coveted seventh defenseman spot on Boston’s roster, but it is worth wondering if he’s officially lost his hold on that spot, or if this was simply a case of the Bruins doing what they could to get Mitchell down to Providence and in a game (both he and Boqvist were in Providence’s lineup for Sunday’s game against Syracuse).
The thinking on the latter being a possibility comes with Sunday being a full off day for the Bruins without any sort of practice or media availability scheduled.
Dec 15, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Parker Wotherspoon (29) skates against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
But if Mitchell has lost his spot as Boston’s seventh defenseman, it would seemingly have everything to do with Parker Wotherspoon, who has played in back-to-back games for the Bruins, and had a stronger night Saturday against the Rangers.
Deployed for 19:02 of time on ice in the overtime loss, Wotherspoon finished with one hit and one blocked shot, and though he was on the ice for the Vincent Trocheck power-play goal that tied things up at 1-1, the analytics indicated that this was a tremendous defensive night for the 6-foot-1 Wotherspoon.
#NHL GameScore Impact Card for Boston Bruins on 2023-12-16:#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/3oo6DeTpIt
— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) December 17, 2023Wotherspoon, who had a 12-game run with the Islanders last year, has one assist and four shots on goal through five games with the Big B’s this season.
Nov 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) celebrates his goal with center Charlie Coyle (13) and defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) against the San Jose Sharks at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)’
It’s also possible that the moves to the minors for both Boqvist and Mitchell means that returns are around the corner for both Pavel Zacha and Charlie McAvoy and that the Bruins needed to make roster space.
McAvoy has missed the last four games with an upper-body injury, while Zacha has missed the last three.
The Bruins will practice on Monday ahead of a Tuesday night showdown with the Wild.
