Bruins signing James Hagens creates immediate NHL lineup question

The Boston Bruins' signing of James Hagens felt inevitable once Lukas Reichel, Mikey Eyssimont, and Alex Steeves all had subpar performances on the third-line left wing over the past week. It seemed like Marco Sturm was giving all three players a tryout to prove that the spot was theirs, and after a 0-2-2 week, it was time to stop delaying the decision and sign Hagens to his entry-level deal.

Sturm now has three days to decide on the direction he is going to take with his lineup, and it won't be easy, with the Bruins possibly needing at least a win to get into the playoffs. Burning a year of Hagens' entry-level deal to play three regular season games and fall out of a postseason spot is the worst-case scenario for the front office.

The trio of David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie, and Elias Lindholm on the first line worked on Tuesday night against the Carolina Hurricanes, with Geekie finally breaking out of his slump and scoring a hat trick. Keeping them together to try and build on the streaky Geekie's performance seems like the right decision, but that makes forming a bottom-six rather difficult.

Uniting Hagens with Fraser Minten and Marat Khusnutdinov sounds like an intriguing trio, but Sturm would be putting a lot of trust in the three rookies. One of the team's hesitations about signing Hagens was his 200-foot game, and there were times when Pastrnak was with Minten and Khusnutdinov that they would be hemmed in their defensive zone for extended periods. It could only be worse with Hagens there in his place.

Sturm could put the bottom-six in a blender, but that could leave Hagens playing with some mix of Tanner Jeannot or Mark Kastelic. That sounds like a good move to protect the team's young prospect, but that doesn't exactly maximize his offensive skills if he has to try to work off of any of the fourth liners who haven't had a goal since the first game after the Olympic break.

James Hagens biggest impact could be on the powerplay

For any fans who closed their eyes for the duration of the Bruins' powerplays over the last month, the good news is that Hagens' strength and immediate impact could be most felt with the man advantage. While it took some time for him to get comfortable at the AHL level, the prospect was at his best when he had the puck on his stick on the powerplay. The zone entries and the puck going through him on the right flank might give fans a new sense of hope.

The normally cautious Bruins have to put Hagens in the best place to succeed. If five-on-five is going to be a bit more of a work-in-progress, Sturm should immediately put him on the first powerplay unit and give him the right flank with Charlie McAvoy up top and Pastrnak on the left flank. If he helps a stumbling powerplay, that could be all the difference in the Bruins getting into the playoffs and having a more well-rounded offense.

If the recent four-game losing streak has told fans anything, they'll need all the offense they can get if they end up playing the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, or Carolina Hurricanes in the first round.