By: Jake Ferraro | Follow me on X @18Jxxx18
Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie has caught the eyes of his team and the rest of the National Hockey League. This season, Geekie leads the Bruins with 30 goals and is second on the team with 49 points.
Geekie is a major reason why the Bruins have 31 wins and hold the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference with 65 points. Geekie’s career year deserves more attention from the rest of the hockey world, and his contribution to the Bruins is significant.
Last night in the Bruins’ 3-2 win over the Nashville Predators, Geekie scored his 30th goal of the season, but he joined elite company in franchise history. Outside of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, who were two consistent goal scorers on the Bruins during their respective tenures, Geekie became the first Bruin to score back-to-back 30-goal seasons since Glen Murray did over 20 years ago.
From last season to this season, the Bruins have seen tremendous improvement in Geekie’s game. Last season, Geekie recorded a career-high 33 goals, but he didn’t score his 30th goal until his 74th game played. This season, it took Geekie 53 games to score his 30th goal of the season. Twenty-one fewer games to score 30 goals is an impressive jump in one season for Geekie.
Geekie has himself in elite company among some of the NHL’s best goal scorers this season. Geekie is tied for third in the NHL this season in goals, being tied with Cole Caufield and Jason Robertson. All three players trail Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid in goals this season. Regardless, Geekie is in an impressive group of goal scorers near the top of the NHL.
The fact that Geekie, who has a $5.5 million salary per year until 2031, is not only leading his team in goals, but is tied for third in the NHL in goals this season, shows the excellent value that the Bruins have. Bruins head coach Marco Sturm talked highly of Geekie following last night’s win.
“I think he’s enjoying the game again,” Sturm said. “I think that’s the biggest thing. When you don’t score, he’s getting frustrated with what is normal, and it’s almost like he doesn’t enjoy the game anymore. Now, he’s just a happy camper right now, comes in every day because now, goals are coming.”
Sturm was quick to point out a cold stretch that Geekie got into. After scoring a goal in the Bruins’ game against the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 21, Geekie went into a 12-game goal drought. It seemed Geekie had lost his hot touch. Now, Geekie has scored five goals over the past five games. One of those games was a two-goal game this past Saturday against the Canadiens.
The Bruins got an excellent player this season in Geekie, and Sturm knows it as a head coach. Moving forward, Geekie is going to be relied on more by the Bruins for goals, and he will have a great chance to continue to be one of the most underrated and underappreciated players in the NHL, being near the top with some of the best goal scorers in the league.
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