By: Eamonn McLean | Follow me on Twitter/X @EamonnMcLean44
The Boston Bruins have already been active in the European Free Agent market, having signed Goaltender Simon Zajicek to an Entry-level Contract earlier this month. According to reports out of Russia, they may be adding another soon. According to both Daria Tuboltseva of RGMedia and Ivan Bogun of Sport-Express, the Bruins are seriously interested in former Anaheim Ducks & Carolina Hurricanes forward Maxime Comtois, whose KHL deal expires May 31st.
“The Bruins are the leading contenders for the forward among NHL clubs.”. wrote Bogun on Tuesday. Comtois spent this past season with Dynamo Moskva of the Kontinental Hockey League. The Longueil, Quebec, native had 50 points in 62 regular-season games, with 99 penalty minutes. He also added 13 points in 15 playoff games.
Boston is not the only team interested in Comtois’ services, as Tuboltseva reported that the Detroit Red Wings also have interest in the player. “According to unconfirmed reports, aside from Detroit, Comtois also has an offer from Boston.“, wrote Tuboltseva on May 18th. Comtois made his NHL debut back in 2018 with Anaheim, where he had seven points in ten games, before ultimately returning to the QMJHL with the Drummondville Voltigeurs to end the year. He spent parts of four more seasons in the Ducks’ organization, before joining Carolina for the 2023-24 season, spending the majority of the season with the American Hockey League’s Chicago Wolves.
Selected by the Anaheim Ducks 50th overall in the 2017 National Hockey League Entry Draft, where Comtois would fit in the Bruins’ lineup remains to be seen. The 6’3″, 223-pound forward has primarily been a left-wing throughout his 211-game NHL career. Boston has several left-handed forwards that need contracts, including Johnny Beecher, Jakub Lauko, and Marat Khusnutdinov. Morgan Geekie is also in need of a new deal, having spent large parts of this past season on the left-side of the ice with David Pastrnak. If Comtois was to choose Boston, there could be a spot for him in the team’s bottom-six.
This is very confusing for me as the Bruins do NOT need any more Left Wings. If he were someone they’d like for depth that would play in Providence then ok but for the NHL team it makes zero sense when they already have: Geekie (can play any fwd position), Mittlestadt (projected to move off of Center), Khustnutdinov, Lauko, Beecher (I hope they move on from him), Minten, Viel, Merkulov, Locmelis, Kuntar, Harrison at their exposal.