The first domino of what will be a surely chaotic offseason for Don Sweeney and the Bruins fell Thursday, as defenseman Kai Wissmann has elected to return to Germany after a year in the B’s organization.

Wissmann’s decision to return home comes just days after the conclusion of the 2023 World Championships, which saw him produce at a near point-per-game pace for his home country, with nine points in 10 games for a German squad that fell short in Canada in the gold medal game.

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• Signed by the Bruins last summer, the right-shooting Wissmann spent his entire 2022-23 campaign with AHL Providence, where he recorded one goal and nine points, along with a plus-5 rating, in 31 games for Ryan Mougenel’s squad.

  Prior to his move to Providence, Jim Montgomery and the Bruins gave Wissmann a two-game run in the preseason. Over that limited sample, Wissmann was credited with two shots on goal and six shots, while the Bruins were outshot 20-12 and outscored 2-1 with Wissmann on the ice.

  At 26 and without a lick of North American experience, Wissmann was by all means a ‘found money’ attempt of a signing from the Bruins following a strong showing on the international stage, especially with a battered right-side defensive depth chart that was without Charlie McAvoy to begin the 2022-23 season.

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  Sep 24, 2022; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Flyers center Olle Lycksell (62) and Bruins defenseman Kai Wissmann (60) battle for position during the second period at Wells Fargo Center. (Eric Hartline/USA TODAY Sports)

• Given his limited usage in the AHL, it was always tough to envision Wissmann sticking around with the B’s organization beyond this season, even as a pending restricted free agent.

  And his departure will lead him back to familiar territory, with the Villingen-Schwenningen native rejoining the Berlin Polar Bears, the team he’s called his own for all eight of his seasons in the DEL. 

  “During my time in the AHL, I noticed more and more how much I missed the atmosphere in the different DEL arenas. Especially at our home games in the Mercedes-Benz Arena,” Wissmann said in the release confirming his return to Berlin. “I’m really looking forward to hearing the whole arena sing our polar bear song again before we enter through the polar bear’s head. When I think about it, I’m already motivated again for the coming season. It feels like coming home to me.”

  Much to the chagrin of all of Providence, the atmosphere at the little rink formerly known as ‘The Dunk’ simply didn’t do it for Wissmann.

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  BOSTON, MA – JUNE 24: Boston Bruins fans hold a giant flag with the Boston Logo on it prior Game 6 of the 2013 NHL Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks at TD Garden on June 24, 2013. (Elsa/Getty Images)

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  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MARCH 10: Jack Ahcan #54 of the Boston Bruins skates against the Chicago Blackhawks during the first period at TD Garden on March 10, 2022 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• Wissmann was just one of many second-tier pending free agents the Bruins will have to address this summer, and was part of a Providence blue line that featured fellow pending free agents Jack Ahcan, Connor Carrick, Anton Stralman, and Nick Wolff.

  The 5-foot-8 Ahcan, who will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer, put up a career-high 36 points in 68 games for Providence this past season, and has one goal in nine NHL games.

  The 26-year-old Wolff will join Ahcan as a Group 6 unrestricted free agent, and is coming off a 2022-23 season that featured one goal and four points in 35 games with Providence. Overall, Wolff has put up one goal and 14 points, along with a plus-11 rating, in 91 games with the P-Bruins since 2021.

  A classic ‘tweener’ addition to the depth chart last year, Carrick is set to hit the open market after a 2022-23 season that included Providence backend-best 44 points, along with one assist in one regular season appearance with the Big B’s.

  Stralman, meanwhile, departed the P-Bruins before the end of their postseason and it’s expected that the Swedish defenseman will formally retire from pro hockey this summer.

  Above the Providence ranks, the Bruins will have two pending unrestricted free agents on the backend, with Connor Clifton and Dmitry Orlov staring down a jump into the open market.

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  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – MAY 26: General Manager Don Sweeney of the Boston Bruins speaks during Media Day ahead of the 2019 NHL Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden on May 26, 2019. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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