The Boston Bruins began training camp with 54 players on their roster.
After three weeks filled with practices and exhibition games, the team whittled down its roster and unveiled on Monday the 23 players who earned the right to call themselves Bruins to start the season.
Forwards:
Johnny Beecher, Justin Brazeau, Charlie Coyle, Trent Frederic, Morgan Geekie, Max Jones, Mark Kastelic, Cole Koepke, Elias Lindholm, Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, Riley Tufte, Pavel Zacha
Defensemen:
Brandon Carlo, Hampus Lindholm, Mason Lohrei, Charlie McAvoy, Andrew Peeke, Parker Wotherspoon, and Nikita Zadorov
Goalies:
Jeremy Swayman, Joonas Korpisalo
Non-Roster Injury:
Matthew Poitras, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula
Most of the names above were expected to make the team, but the opening night roster does have a few surprises, with Cole Koepke chief among them.
An under-the-radar free agent signing by the Bruins this summer, Kopeke was lost in the shuffle at the start of camp among the many other players who were vying for a role in the bottom six. Slowly but surely, though, the 26-year-old began to stand out from the rest of the pack.
He scored a goal in Boston’s preseason opener against the New York Rangers on Sep. 22 and soon began to appear regularly on the Bruins’ presumed fourth line alongside Mark Kastelic and Johnny Beecher.
How often Koepke will play during the regular season isn’t clear. Nevertheless, he will be with the Bruins when they begin the season tomorrow night, appearing on the opening night roster for the first time in his career.
While it’s somewhat of a surprise that Koepke made the roster, the fact that Tyler Johnson did not is equally so.
Johnson was a good soldier for the Bruins throughout training camp while on a professional tryout contract. He was a veteran presence in the locker room and played smart, sensible, and responsible hockey in almost every situation imaginable. Yet, the 13-year veteran did not showcase enough to earn a guaranteed contract.
It’s possible the decision by the Bruins to leave Johnson off the roster was simply due to cap constraints. After re-signing Jeremy Swayman to an eight-year, $66 million contract on Sunday, the Bruins have only $145,261 in cap space, according to Puckpedia.
There has been no official word from the Bruins stating that Johnson has been released from his PTO contract. He can travel and practice with the Bruins until the trade deadline on March 7 and can sign a guaranteed contract anytime before then.
Last year, Danton Heinen played for the Bruins while on a PTO and did not sign a guaranteed contract until the team had already played eight regular season games.
The Bruins begin their 2024-25 campaign tomorrow night at 7 p.m. against the Florida Panthers at Amarant Bank Arena.
