Last summer was a summer of change for the Boston Bruins. Centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired leaving a huge hole up the middle for second-year head coach Jim Montgomery. Instead of making additions from the outside other than Morgan Geekie in free agency, GM Don Sweeney decided to begin the season with Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha up the middle as his top two pivots.
After that, the Black and Gold entered training camp with Geekie and Trent Frederic in their plans with John Beecher as a backup option. One of the more interesting players in camp was 2022 second round draft pick, 54th overall, Matthew Poitras. The 20-year-old came into camp, turned heads and earned a spot on the openign night roster. The rest was history.
Matthew Poitras 2023-24 regular season
Not only was Poitras one of the more impressive players in training camp, he was their best player a lot of nights in their preseason games. All of that translated into opening the season in Boston before the Black and Gold had a decision to make after nine games, keep him the NHL or send him back to juniors as he could not be sent to the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
They kept him in the NHL and it paid off. He played 33 games and had five goals and 15 points. He scored his first two career goals on the road against the Anaheim Ducks and then collected his third goal of the season two nights later against the Chicago Blackhawks. He averaged 13:23 minutes a night and was plus-4 while winning 43.7% of his faceoffs.
A dash from Matthew Poitras extends the @NHLBruins lead! 💨
— NHL (@NHL) October 25, 2023
📺: @espn & @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/FmPv8M6v1l pic.twitter.com/IebBwFWWbv
In December, the Bruins loaded him to Team Canada to play in the 2024 World Junior Championship and after he returned, his season only lasted less than a month. In February after playing his last game on Jan. 25 against the Ottawa Senators, he underwent shoulder surgery and missed the rest of the season. It was a tough loss for Montgomery and the Bruins as he provided a spark when he was in the lineup.
Matthew Poitras future in Boston
Going forward, Poitras has a bright future in Boston. He should return for training camp healthy following surgery and he will look to win another spot on the roster for the 2024-25 season. Right now is a middle-six center and when he gets a little bigger and stronger, he's going to be a top-six center down the line. A lot is made about Sweeney's Entry Drafts and rightfully so, but it appears that they have found a future NHL center with Poitras.