Nearing the end of a disappointing homestand, the reeling Bruins made a move on the NHL roster front Sunday, with winger Oskar Steen placed on waivers by the club.
Steen, who was a healthy scratch in Saturday’s overtime loss to the Kings, had been with the NHL club since the Bruins placed Milan Lucic on the long-term injured reserve back on Oct. 28.
Dec 15, 2023; Elmont, New York, USA; Boston Bruins center Oskar Steen (62) skates against the New York Islanders during the second period at UBS Arena. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
Steen’s offensive struggles weren’t all that surprising given his limited usage and the typical fourth-line deployment from the Bruins (an awful lot of defensive-zone work), but it was statistically speaking, the worst in the NHL.
One of 580 NHL players to play at least 30 games this season, Steen’s single point ranked dead last among that group of 580. Steen is also one of just two forwards (and just four players in total) in the NHL this season to play at least 300 five-on-five minutes and not record multiple points.
Steen was also coming off back-to-back outings where he was given less than eight minutes of time on ice for the first time in almost a month, and his Feb. 13 outing against the Kraken was also a true ‘nothing’ kind of performance, with zero hits, zero blocks, and just one shot in 7:51 of play.
Sep 26, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Boston Bruins center Oskar Steen (62) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports)
Steen, who has been in Boston’s pro ranks since the 2019-20 season, has made 60 total NHL appearances for the Bruins over the last four seasons, with four goals and eight points over that span.
In the final year of a deal that comes with an $800,000 cap hit, Steen would need to appear in another 20 NHL games between now and the end of the regular season for Steen to remain an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent. If that does not happen, the 5-foot-10 Steen will be a Group 6 unrestricted free agent this summer.
With Steen on waivers, the Bruins currently have 12 healthy forwards on their NHL roster, but they could use a reinforcement by the morning, with Lauko’s status currently up in the air due an upper-body injury that kept him out of Sunday’s practice.
