Bruins cut Chiasson as roster takes shape
Their varsity roster all but a fait accompli, the Bruins on Sunday released former Boston University forward Alex Chiasson from his professional tryout contract, and coach Jim Montgomery said his lineup for Thursday night’s preseason game against the Rangers likely will be the roster that opens regularseason play next week.
Chiasson, 33, failed to catch the coaching staff ’s eye in his pair of preseason performances, including Friday night’s shootout loss to the Flyers, and must look elsewhere in hopes of extending a career in which he four times has landed an NHL contract via the tryout process.
“I don’t know if he came up short,” said Montgomery, when asked about cutting Chiasson free some 10 days into camp. “It’s more that a lot of guys are having really good camps, you know, and it’s coming down to numbers. We felt that this gave him the best opportunity maybe to catch on somewhere else.”
Meanwhile, ahead of Monday night’s rematch in Philadelphia, the first group of 22 that skated Sunday in Brighton likely included the 12 forwards, 6 defensemen, and 2 goaltenders who ultimately will be in uniform Oct. 11 when the Blackhawks will be in Boston for the season opener.
Forwards:
■ James van Riemsdyk | Pavel Zacha | David Pastrnak
■ Brad Marchand | Charlie Coyle | Jake DeBrusk
■ A.J. Greer | Morgan Geekie | Trent Frederic
■ Milan Lucic | Jesper Boqvist | Patrick Brown
Defensemen:
■ Matt Grzelcyk | Charlie McAvoy
■ Hampus Lindholm | Brandon Carlo
■ Derek Forbort | Kevin Shattenkirk
■ Jakub Zboril | Ian Mitchell Goalies:
■ Linus Ullmark
■ Jeremy Swayman
There will be some final auditions over the next two games — Flyers, followed by the Capitals at TD Garden Tuesday evening — and then a day off Wednesday before that final tuneup Thursday on Broadway.
“Essentially, that will be our team,” said Montgomery, referring to the squad that dresses at Madison Square Garden. “Not exactly, because maybe we’ll have some guys play in the backto-back games. But we’re also looking at power-play units, maybe have one power-play unit get in each game … then have two power-play units in the same game at Madison Square Garden.”
Impressive junior prospect Matt Poitras and PTO returnee Danton Heinen, both of whom practiced with the ‘B’ squad on Sunday, could be the lone challengers for varsity spots.
Heinen, making a solid bid to be signed to at least a two-way deal, could provide support at wing on lines No. 23-4. Poitras, a 19-year-old with only two years of junior experience, would have to convince Montgomery et al. that he would be a better candidate at No. 4 center than Boqvist, the ex-Devil who signed a one-way free agent deal in July.
Per the NHL’s agreement with the Canadian junior leagues, Poitras could play up to 10 NHL games and still return to his OHL Guelph squad. He has an NHL-ready contract (cap hit: $870,000), but general manager Don Sweeney would have to move out some payroll in order to fit him under the max of $83.5 million.
By Montgomery’s eye, Poitras fits best as a center, which, though impressive, could narrow his chances of sticking for the start of the season. Patrice Bergeron, among the top centers in the game’s history, started his career here on the wing, allowing him time to acclimate to bigger, stronger players and the faster pace of play.
“Centers are what we need,” noted Montgomery. “So, we’re looking at that right now, but more importantly, for the future.”
Poitras, added Montgomery, supports pucks well, makes plays, and is a “prototypical-type center.”
“But I also think it looked like he played slow on the wing [in rookie camp],” said Montgomery. “That’s probably because he’s never played it and had the puck all the time [as a center]. The two games he’s played [in preseason], I thought he was better in game two than in game one. So he keeps getting better and better, so that’s a good sign.”
The roster that will travel to Philadelphia after Monday’s workout in Brighton:
Forwards: Boqvist, Justin Brazeau, Brown, Coyle, DeBrusk, Geekie, Greer, Fabian Lysell, Marc McLaughlin, Poitras, Anthony Richard, Oskar Steen.
Defensemen: Mike Callahan, Carlo, Lindholm, Mitchell, Dan Renouf, Reilly Walsh.
Goaltenders: Brandon Bussi, Swayman.