The calendar has flipped to September, and the NHL will begin its season this month. The Boston Bruins will begin their season this month for real. They will kick off their 84-game schedule on Sept. 29 at TD Garden against the New York Rangers.
Speaking of the Rangers, general manager Chris Drury has been busy this offseason, looking to follow the path of his fellow GM with the Bruins, Don Sweeney, in terms of retooling on the fly and getting back into the playoffs the following season. Easier said than done.
On Tuesday, New York dipped into the free agent market and signed former Seattle Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen to a one-year contract for $1.5 million. He was one of the remaining free agents as training camp inches closer. However, there are still some players looking for work for the upcoming season, and a PTO might be their path into an NHL team's training camp. Part of the remaining group is a trio of former Bruins players.
3 former Bruins players remain free agents ahead of training camp
Three former Boston players and veterans who could still help teams remain unsigned at the time this article is being written. Defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly and forward James van Riemsdyk are still available for teams to look to add over the next couple of weeks.
Let's start with Grzelcyk. The former Boston University star has played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and Chicago Blackhawks after leaving the Bruins in free agency. He had a career-high 39 assists for the Penguins in 2024-25 while logging a career-high 20:37 per night in all 82 regular-season games. He had 12 assists in 69 games last season for the Blackhawks, but the 32-year-old is someone who could fill an opening on the back end as a puck-moving defenseman.
As for Reilly, he has bounced around with the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders, and Carolina Hurricanes since leaving Boston following the 2022-23 season. He played in 42 games for the Hurricanes last season and got his name on the Stanley Cup after Carolina took down the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. Reilly might find it a little tougher than Grzelcyk to find a home.
Finally, van Riemsdyk had 15 goals and 16 assists in 72 games for the Detroit Red Wings. He has bounced around with a handful of teams, but one thing has been consistent: he has been a valuable member of each team and can still produce. A team looking for a veteran to slide into their bottom-six and provide leadership could look to sign him. There should be some decisions on PTOs sooner rather than later, and it wouldn't be surprising to see any of these players signed.
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