In a dismal 2024-2025 season in which the Boston Bruins scored fewer goals than any team in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, and trailed behind all but three teams in the entire NHL, putting just 222 past opposing goalies, two players provided cause for hope.
One of them was expected, the other, maybe not so much.
Of course any Bruins observer would expect winger David Pastrnak to lead the team in goals. The 43 scored by “Pasta” in the past season were fourth-most in the league. Among NHL players whose careers started after 2010, only Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (399), and the Toronto Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews (401) have scored more than Pastrnak (391).
So, no surprises there.
But Boston’s generally lame offensive attack contained one other bright spot. Center Morgan Geekie was signed as a free agent two years ago after two seasons with the Seattle Kraken, and two with the team that took him in the third round of the 2017 Entry Draft, the Carolina Hurricanes.
Playing primarily out of the top line center slot, Geekie poured in 33 goals last season, to build on the 17 he scored in 2023-2024. General manager Don Sweeney, it is probably fair to say, did not expect 50-goal production from the 26-year-old center.
Geekie May Now Test Restricted Free Agent Market
“Signing Geekie to a two-year, $4 million contract in the summer of 2023 was one of Sweeney’s best free agent deals since he took over as B’s general manager in 2015,” wrote NHL analyst Nick Goss of NBC Sports Boston on Thursday. “Geekie provided tremendous value to the Bruins during that contract. His 50 goals over two seasons with Boston are 31 more than he scored from 2020-21 through 2022-23.”
But Geekie’s two-year deal is now finished and the Manitoba native is now eligible to become a restricted free agent. That means he can sign with any team, though the Bruins retain a right of first refusal if they choose to match the competitor’s offer.
The Bruins have been in “constant communication” with Geekie’s representatives, Sweeney said Thursday. But in the same statement to reporters, the longtime Bruins GM also announced some disappointing news.
The two sides are not yet close on reaching a new contract agreement â a revelation on which Sweeney attempted to put an optimistic face.
“Are we on the doorstep? I donât think so, but that can change with one phone call,â Sweeney said, speaking at press conference prior to Saturday’s opening of the NHL draft. âYou get around this time frame, and sometimes youâre tracking on a deal, and you get it done right away. Other times you put it on the back burners to see what everybody else is maybe focused on.”
Potential 4-Year Deal Estimated For Geekie
After a trade deadline upheaval that saw the Bruins trade away multiple fan-favorite veterans including Brandon Carlo, Charlie Coyle and Brad Marchand â who went on to win the Stanley Cup with his new team, the Florida Panthers â Bruins fans likely did not want to hear that retaining Geekie has been placed on the “back burner.”
Under NHL rules, a restricted free agent can waive his right to sign elsewhere by choosing the often contentious process of salary arbitration. Sweeney, ruled that option out calling arbitration “impossible for both sides.”
According to the pro sports consulting firm AFP Analytics, Geekie’s projected market value would net him a four-year contract at a total value of $26.35 million. His cap hit next season would be about $6.6 million.
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