Those days spent on the outside looking in still resonate with the 27-year-old Geekie.

“It was pretty tough. I’m not going to lie,” Geekie told the Globe Tuesday. “Obviously your job’s at stake, and when you’re in that position at the end of a deal, and you’re not playing well, a lot of things can add up.

“I’m trying to do a job for my family and support my family, and I think that maybe gets overlooked a little bit, so you have the weight of that, as well. It’s definitely a big change with where I am now, but it’s good. I don’t think I would be where I am without those hardships.”

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Those hardships seemingly fueled Geekie’s transformation into one of the NHL’s elite scorers.

Once deemed a spare cog, the sight of Geekie rifling pucks past goaltenders is now as regular an occurrence as fellow Bruins sniper David Pastrnak uncorking rockets from the left circle.

Since the calendar flipped to 2025, Pastrnak ranks second in the league with 41 goals in 67 games. The only player with more? Geekie — with 42.

Fresh off a 33-goal campaign primarily sparked after Montgomery’s exit, Geekie has dispelled the notion that last season was a fluke.

With 17 goals in just 24 games, Geekie is tied with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead — and is on pace for a whopping 58 goals.

Geekie’s emergence has raised the possibility that he could be in the running for a spot on Team Canada’s roster for the 2026 Olympics — a notion that Geekie downplayed.

“Obviously, that’s a dream that every kid in Canada has,” Geekie said. “I look at the lineup and you go down and I’m like, ‘Whose spot are you realistically going to take?’ But I appreciate it wholeheartedly — just to have my name in the conversation, no matter how long that list may be.”

A slap shot delivered by Geekie against the Maple Leafs on Nov. 11 registered at 103.03 miles per hour, the fastest shot in the league this season, per NHL Edge tracking data. Eleven of Geekie’s 17 goals have come from mid-range (eight) or long range (three) — both of which rank in the 99th percentile.

For Geekie, a renewed sense of confidence trumps all other factors behind his recent success.

Geekie credited former Bruins coaches and teammates such as Joe Sacco and Brad Marchand for rebuilding that conviction last fall — back when he started to foster doubts whether Boston was going to be just the latest pit stop.

“I think it allows you to be a little bit more selfish with the puck in those decisions. I feel like when you don’t see those pucks going in, you feel like you’re almost wasting an opportunity, and you want to give it to somebody else in a better spot,” Geekie said of his increased shot volume. “But I think when you start to trust yourself a little more, the confidence starts to grow.

“The hardest part is when you have no confidence and you’re just trying to get a little bit of it. And then once you get a little bit, you just start adding every day. I feel like, right now, I’m pretty content with where I am. I know what I can do.”

The reminders of his previous labors are far from the only thing fueling Geekie’s resurgence.

Be it social-media venom, chirps broadcast over the airwaves, or blunt critiques put into print, pro athletes are usually best served avoiding said noise.

Geekie, however, embraces it.

He noted ahead of last season that he kept up with plenty said about him, especially when some doubted that his 17-goal debut season in Boston was going to be the norm.

That outside noise hasn’t quieted down — even as Geekie continues to find the back of the net.

“I still pay attention,” Geekie said with a smile. “People think that I’m still a Pasta merchant. So it is what it is.

“But I know what I can do and the player that I’ve grown into. I know that I can be a good player in this league, and then when people are, ‘Ah, he’s only good because [Pastrnak’s] good.’ He’s a world-class player, and everyone knows that. But it does take a good player to click with a great player.”

Conor Ryan can be reached at conor.ryan@globe.com.