By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter/X @RyanJBosworth
We’re growing closer and closer to the start of the 2026-27 National Hockey League season. The Boston Bruins’ training camp opens in less than a month, and there are still some things that have yet to be done that would seemingly rank pretty high on the Bruins’ to-do list.
One of those things I covered last week — and that’s the Bruins’ lack of a formal captain and president Cam Neely’s relaxed comments on the subject. Another pretty important piece of work would be signing forward Matthew Poitras, as he remains unsigned with the season continuing to creep closer.
Poitras was extension eligible at the start of the 2025-26 season. He spent most of it down in Providence with the Bruins’ American Hockey League affiliate Providence Bruins. Through 69 games with Providence, Poitras recorded 13-31-44 and a plus/minus of plus one. It wasn’t quite as strong a season as his first season in the AHL, which saw just a three point increase in 19 less games.
Poitras saw some time in Boston. Most notably, he played in the Bruins’ Stadium Series game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, where he scored his only goal of the three game stint. Despite recording just 1-0-1 through those three games, Poitras’ game certainly had a higher level of maturity to it, and he looked much more comfortable and confident than in seasons past.
A big factor in Poitras’ lack of NHL games last season was his training camp, and how he was out worked for a spot on the roster by center Fraser Minten, who blossomed into a legitimate top-six center for the Bruins this season. As a new season nears, it’s unlikely that we see Poitras push for Minten’s spot, but anything is possible. After acquiring Minten at the 2025 trade deadline, and adding some depth to their prospect pool at center, it’s becoming more difficult to envision where Poitras fits in.
Now, on the other side of the coin, there’s a lot of untapped value to Poitras’ game, and it’s certainly getting better as he gets older and more experienced. Letting him go for pennies on the dollar wouldn’t be wise, and finding a way to fit him into the roster, should he earn his way there, would make the most sense. Shifting him to wing or a scenario in which he pushes someone else out and takes their job would be the best return on the Bruins’ investment when they drafted Poitras at 54th overall in 2022.
Regardless, there’s a lot of behind the scenes business that isn’t being reported to the public. Bruins’ general manager Don Sweeney isn’t “mismanaging” assets. Poitras’ requests aren’t known, and the offers made to him from the front office aren’t known, either. Training camp hasn’t started yet. If the season starts and continues to progress without a Poitras signing, then criticisms are fair. But right now? It’s still too early to hit the panic button.
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