To get down to the 23-man roster limit for Tuesday’s opener against the New York Rangers, the Bruins waived defenseman Henri Jokiharju for the purpose of assignment to Providence and placed Matt Poitras on injured reserve, back-dated to September 22.
The move gives the B’s a roster of eight defensemen, 13 forwards and two goalies.
Jokiharju, a 2017 first round Chicago draft pick who spent six years with the Buffalo Sabres, has two years left on a three-year deal that carries an AAV of $3 million, a contract that can be only be viewed as a mistake. It’s a deal that could be chalked up to the premium on right-shot defenseman and the fact that the Finn played well with Nikita Zadorov upon being acquired at the 2025 trade deadline. But he played just 41 games last year and was often a healthy scratch. He played two playoff games but coach Marco Sturm went with two lefties on the third pairing right side before eventually turning to Jokiharju in a losing battle.
Rookie Frederic Brunet, 23, had a promising camp and is waiver eligible so that made Jokiharju expendable.
We will find out by 2 p.m. on Monday if anyone claims him. If not, the B’s will be on the hook for $1.775 million of Jokiharju’s salary against the cap. The B’s are also on the hook for $400,000 of Alex Steeves’ $1.625 salary. Steeves was waived on Saturday and cleared on Sunday. Lukas Reichel also cleared.
The move of Poitras to IR gives the B’s some more time to figure things out. As of now, 30-year-old Mikey Eyssimont, who had a solid camp, is the 13th forward. Poitras, 22, would require waivers to be sent to Providence.
The B’s also assigned Dans Locmelis, Riley Duran and Jake Schmaltz, none of whom required waivers, to Providence.