Former Bruins in the NHL: Atlantic Division

Training camp is in full swing leaguewide, and the Boston Bruins have made their first round of cuts as the start of the regular season draws closer and closer. The attention right now is on the cloud looming over Bruins camp in the form of the Jeremy Swayman situation, but these Bruins aren't the only ones in the league.

Following in a similar path as my obscure former Bruins series, I'll be taking a look at NHL rosters to find former Bruins players across the league this season, going division by division. Since the Bruins are in the Atlantic Division, we'll start off with the former Bruins players suiting up for Atlantic Division teams this season.

What former Bruins players are playing for Atlantic Division rivals this season?

We'll start things off with the defending champions and the squad that eliminated the Bruins in the second round of the playoffs in the Florida Panthers. Three of their signings this offseason involved former Bruins players.

One signing was Jesper Boqvist, who agreed to a one-year contract with the team. Boqvist is coming off a solid season with the Bruins, potting six goals and adding eight assists in 47 games and adding one assist in eight playoff games. He's a regular bottom-six guy, so the Bruins probably won't miss him too much.

Another signing was AJ Greer, who played for the Bruins in 2022-2023 before being claimed on waivers by the Calgary Flames before last season began. Greer had a nice little season in Boston with five goals and seven assists in 61 games before he became expendable with the addition of Milan Lucic, although that didn't end up going well. He had six goals and six assists in 59 games with the Flames last year.

The Panthers also brought in Tomas Nosek, who spent two years with the Bruins. He combined for 10 goals and 25 assists over 141 regular season games before signing with the New Jersey Devils last offseason. He had two goals and four assists but was limited to 36 games due to injury.

The Buffalo Sabres have a former Bruins player in their ranks, that being Connor Clifton. Affectionately known for Cliffy Hockey, the defenseman had 10 goals and 33 assists across 232 regular season games in a Bruins uniform, spanning five seasons.

By the end of his Bruins tenure, he had lost a hold of everyday playing time both in the regular season and playoffs, making him a player the Bruins didn't bring back in free agency. Last summer, he opted to sign with the Sabres on a three-year contract and had 18 points in 79 games in his first year.

One more Atlantic Division squad that has a former Bruins player is the Ottawa Senators. We all know what happened this summer, as the Bruins traded Linus Ullmark to Ottawa for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a first-round draft pick that became Dean Letourneau.

While it hurt to see Ullmark go, the move was necessary for the Bruins to sign Jeremy Swayman long-term and improve other areas of the roster. Of course, the big problem now is the Bruins have not yet signed Swayman, and indications are showing nothing is close either.

Ullmark is now the clear-cut number one in Ottawa as they hope to make the playoffs again, the last step in their rebuild. If he performs well, the dilemma will then be trying to keep him, as he's able to hit free agency next summer.