Boston Bruins Final Year of Joonas Kemppainen
By Jay Peterson
With most players locked up and free agency winding down, it is time to look at the members of the Boston Bruins who are in the last year of their respective contracts. In this article, we will determine what Joonas Kemppainen needs to do in his final year and whether or not he will return to the black and gold.
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It seems unfair to say that this could potentially be the last year of Joonas Kemppainen, since it is also his first year as Bruin. However, it is very possible that the 6’02”, 213 pound Finnish center, could be out on the market come next offseason. For those of us who wanted to see a little bit more of Kemppainen before rookie and training camp, we were sadly disappointed with his on ice absence during the Boston Bruins development camp.
“Joonas wasn’t able to go on the ice this week,” GM Don Sweeney said, with regards to Kemppainen’s hamstring injury that has kept him off the ice for development camp, “so that’s an area that we’re going to have to look at when he gets back.” Kemppainen’s defense first mentality will give him an automatic page in coach Claude Julien‘s good books which will increase the chances of him sneaking in to the Bruins lineup, when the opportunity arises According to Sweeney, who spoke of Kemppainen, during his development camp press conference, “he’s a player that we’ve identified that may be able to.”
Jun 26, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney makes the first of three consecutive draft picks in the first round of the 2015 NHL Draft at BB&T Center. Mandatory
: Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Signing Joonas Kemppainen to a one year, two-way, contract at $972, 500 dollars (information can be found on salary cap site General Fanager) was the first move that Don Sweeney made when he became the Boston Bruins’ new general manager. It was also a move that confirmed the inevitable fact that Carl Soderberg would not be returning to the Boston roster. Now, I am not saying that Joonas Kemppainen will be replacing Carl Soderberg in point production, but I do believe that the third line center position that Soderberg manned throughout last season will be the spot that Kemppainen will be put in, when it is necessary.
In the opinion of most, the third line center position belongs to Ryan Spooner. However, if David Krejci or Patrice Bergeron were to get injured, Spooner would be expected to move up a line, as he did last year. This would be Kemppainen’s opportunity to fill in that third line. Some would say that Chris Kelly would move up to the third line and that Kemppainen would take the fourth line role, but I believe that Kemppainen would be put to better use if he played with more opportunistic forwards, like Loui Eriksson, Bretty Connolly or Jimmy Hayes.
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At any rate, it seems likely that we will be seeing Joonas Kemppainen, at some point, up with the Bruins. The one thing I do not want to see this year is Joonas Kemppainen being a healthy scratch. This is a player that is trying out his skills in a new league, in a new country, and will not get used to anything if he does not play. When there is not room for him on Boston’s bottom six, I expect him to be playing top six minutes in Providence.
Whether or not Kemppainen resigns with the Bruins will all depend on how his development and experience of playing in North America goes, both in Boston and Providence. If he is giving the opportunities and the ice time that he is deserving of, then he should find great joy in playing for the Bruins. Perhaps then Don Sweeney will be able to extend his first acquisition to a longer contract arrangement.