Eyes on Matt Poitras

     

    The  Boston Bruins had 1 major assignment this offseason, they needed to replace their top two centers. They have just done it, the emergence of Johnny Beecher and Matt Poitras has been an exciting start to the Bruins pre season and now regular season. Matt Poitras is the 19 year old phenom that with the opportunity given to him dominated during pre season and found his way to a spot on the Bruins roster. During Pre Season Poitras led the Bruins with 3 goals 2 assists and 5 points. The kid is definitely not afraid to shoot the puck if he can develop into the offense threat at center that the Bruins need the depth at center will have been addressed from within, showing that  Sweeney (who i have had some questions about in the past) might have known something that we did not.

    The kid is electric and he has only just started is career in the NHL and with the Bruins, where I worry about the young center, comes down to the physicality that comes with playing in the NHL, and the wear and tear of an 82 game season. The NHL is one of the most physical sports in all of American team sports and Poitras is a 5"11 181 lbs. 19 year old kid. The NHL is filled with beastly physical athletes that will try to dominate through brute force. A 200 plus pound body crashing into Poitras and the boards seems like a complete recipe for failure. It is also important to note if he can keep up his pace as an offensive threat throughout the entire season. 82 games in the NHL is a much taller task and fatigue is a legitimate factor for adjustment to the big leagues.

    Right now Matt Poitras is one of the sparks that the Bruins need, he is currently on the 3rd line at center, there is a world where this season he even climbs to the 2nd line. Charlie Coyle could get pushed to 3rd line center because he has not been scoring as much, he clings to the puck for majority of minutes he plays. Pavel Zacha starts on the 1st line as that playmaking two way center to set up Marchand and Debrusk. Then you throw Poitras on that 2nd line with JVR (who is off to an extremely hot start after last night against the predators) and David Pastrnak. JVR, Poitras, and Pastrnak is the most exciting and lethal offensive line the Bruins could run and I would be excited to see it.

    So far in the regular season Poitras has been holding down the 3rd line with wings Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie, Poitras in his 1st game this season had an assist which led to a point along with a +/- of +1 showing he has not been hurting the team with his production. The big thing for Poitras now is adjusting from pre season competition to legitimate NHL rosters that are competing to make the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2024. It will take time, Poitras had a pedestrian performance in his second game against the Nashville Predators. These things take time, but the sky is the limit for this kid.

    The void that Patrice Bergeron left was the biggest concern for the Boston Bruins, they needed to address center depth, they went all in at the deadline last season (which they should have, Sweeny did the right thing) the Bruins gave up major draft capital and failed to finish the job. Following the wake of Bergeron and Krejci retiring meant the Bruins had massive issues at center. If Poitras and Beecher and emerge and become the Centers of the future for the Bruins they can definitely make the playoffs this season and build a contender for the Cup for years to come.