The Boston Bruins begin training camp this week, the second under head coach Marco Sturm and the 11th under general manager Don Sweeney. In an offseason that saw some, but not a lot of turnover with the roster in Boston, the Black and Gold will still have decisions to make when it comes to the roster, with the season opener just 14 days away.
As far as roster decisions go, there are going to be plenty, mainly surrounding the defensemen, bottom-six forwards, and some prospects like James Hagens and maybe Matthew Poitras, who still needs a contract before the first on-ice workouts on Thursday. At the time this article is being written, he still doesn't have one.
Late on Monday night, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe posted on his X account that the Bruins will not be bringing any players into training camp on a PTO this year. According to Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub, this will be just the third time during Sweeney's tenure as GM that there will be no players attending camp on a PTO.
Bruins entering training camp PTO free
During Sweeney's time as GM, Boston has had 11 players come on PTOs, according to Anderson. Of those 11, Jonas Gustavsson, Peter Mueller, Lee Stempniak, Alex Petrovic, Anton Stralman, Danton Heinen, and Tyler Johnson all ended up being signed to contracts. Some worked out, and some, well, didn't.
As for this season's group and not bringing in a player on a PTO, it shouldn't be surprising. The roster is more than full as it is for Sturm, and there are going to be some tough decisions made in a very short amount of time, with the season opener on Sept. 29 against the New York Rangers at TD Garden on what is now an 84-game regular-season schedule.
There are some forwards in the bottom six, Mikey Eyssimont, Alex Steeves, Dans Locmelis, Riley Duran, Lukas Reichel, Ivan Ivan, and others who are going to be fighting for a roster spot that is going to be few and far between. On defense, there are 10 defensemen for six spots, but remember, Charlie McAvoy is suspended for the first six games of the season for this slash on Buffalo Sabres forward Zach Benson at the end of last spring's playoff series.
This doesn't mean that someone can't be added through a trade or a waiver wire pick before the season starts, but for now, the Bruins are full and have plenty of decisions to make before Opening Night.
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