FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The NHL’s pre-Olympic roster freeze goes into effect Wednesday at 3 p.m. ET. Once it hits, no trades will be permitted until 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 22. Many around the league are viewing this as something of a “first trade deadline,” prior to the real deadline on March 6.<\/p>\n
Whether the Boston Bruins do anything Wednesday remains to be seen (my hunch: don’t hold your breath), but there is one player on their roster whose name has popped up in some trade chatter recently: Matt Poitras.<\/p>\n
The 21-year-old center was mentioned in rumors during the Bruins’ pursuit of defenseman Rasmus Andersson a couple weeks ago, although a source indicated to WEEI that it was unlikely Poitras would have been in Boston’s final offer. The deal fell apart when Andersson was unwilling to sign an extension, anyways.<\/p>\n
The talk around Poitras hasn’t really quieted down, though. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on “The FAN Hockey Show”<\/a> last week that Poitras and the Bruins “aren’t 100 percent happy with each other” and that “it wouldn’t be a shock if something happened here.”<\/p>\n “I’ve wondered about [Poitras],” he said. “You can tell that both sides aren’t 100 percent happy with each other here. I think the Bruins have expected more. I think Poitras would expect more from the Bruins. He just switched agents, too. That doesn’t happen when people are happy. I don’t know if I would call it a showcase, but I do think that it wouldn’t be a shock if something happened there.”<\/p>\n It’s easy to see where Friedman’s comments are coming from. After playing 33 NHL games each of the previous two seasons, Poitras had not gotten a look in Boston this year until last week. He also hadn’t produced as much in Providence, going from 41 points in 40 AHL games last season to 24 in 39 this year. And, as Friedman noted, Poitras switched agents three weeks ago.<\/p>\n Poitras addressed the speculation on Tuesday, telling WEEI.com he is “not unhappy in any way.”<\/p>\n “I’m happy,” he said. “I haven’t been unhappy all season. I’m happy to be here, and I’m happy to try and contribute. And yeah, just excited to have an opportunity to play in the NHL again. So yeah, I’m not unhappy in any way.”<\/p>\n Poitras acknowledged he wants to be spending more time in Boston than Providence, as any player would, but reiterated that does not mean he’s “unhappy” with his situation.<\/p>\n “I mean, obviously it’s hard to be playing in Providence and the ultimate goal is to be playing in the NHL,” he said. “But it’s something I want to earn and not just be handed. It’s not unhappiness. It’s just, obviously everybody wants to be in the NHL.”<\/p>\n As for changing agents, Poitras didn’t go into much detail regarding the decision.<\/p>\n “Just change of scenery. Nothing really to read into,” he said.<\/p>\n Poitras scored his first NHL goal of the season \u2013 his first NHL goal since Nov. 2, 2024, in fact \u2013 in Sunday’s 6-5 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Raymond James Stadium. It was a pretty finish, as he took a pass from Mark Kastelic, raced down the slot, and roofed a backhander over Andrei Vasilevskiy’s glove. Poitras helped create several other scoring chances, as he did in his first game up last Thursday against Philadelphia too.<\/p>\n MATTHEW POITRAS WITH THE BACKHAND TO GIVE THE @NHLBRUINS<\/a> A THREE-GOAL LEAD \ud83d\udc3b\ud83d\udc3b\ud83d\udc3b #StadiumSeries<\/a> <\/p>\n \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8: @espn<\/a> \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/m0LyTCHYnH<\/a>
\ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6: @Sportsnet<\/a> & @TVASports<\/a> \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/4KjbdjVctF<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/6D6cmrBUf0<\/a><\/p>\n