Bruins free agency: Boston signs Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk, Kevin Shattenkirk and six others on busy day

Geekie, drafted in the 2017 third round by Carolina, had 28 points (9g, 19a) in 69 games for the Seattle Kraken last season. All but one of his goals (and points) came at 5-on-5. In his 180-game NHL career, he has 63 points (22 goals) as mostly a bottom-six forward. 

The 24-year-old stands at 6-foot-3, 200 pounds and was mentioned among my free-agent targets for the Bruins. He's capable of playing both center and wing and had a role on the penalty kill in Seattle. He should fill a middle-six role for the Bruins. 

Shattenkirk, largely a third-pair defenseman at this point in his career, played an elevated role on the last-place Anaheim Ducks last season, where he posted four goals and 23 assists in 75 games. The 6-foot, 212-pound right-hander has 891 games of NHL experience in addition to a Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020. He played both power play and penalty kill in Anaheim. 

Brown played 61 games between the Flyers and Senators last season, putting up four goals and eight assists. It was the first time the 31-year-old stuck in the NHL for a full season. He had 167 hits last season.

Richard, 26, has been a career AHL journeyman, albeit a productive one at that, putting up 67 points (30g, 37a) in 60 games with the AHL's Laval Rockey last year. He got into 13 NHL games with Montreal, putting up five points (3g, 2a). 

Wotherspoon, who will soon turn 26, is a defensive defenseman who has spent the last five seasons in the AHL. He had a goal and 11 assists in 27 AHL games with Bridgeport last year. He spent a portion of the season as a reserve with the Islanders, where he had one assist in 12 NHL games.

Toporowski signed with Providence as a free agent out of the WHL last off-season. In 24 AHL games, the 24-year-old had 15 goals and 29 points. 

Megna, 33, skated in 55 NHL games last season between Anaheim and Colorado with two goals and eight points. He has 203 NHL games under his belt with the Ducks, Avalanche, Canucks, Rangers and Penguins. In 415 AHL games, he has 251 points (121 goals). 

The deals bring Boston down to approximately $7.8 million in cap space, according to CapFriendly. 

This will be continually updated as news rolls in.

Quickie thoughts...

Overall...

• If Lucic, JVR and Shattenkirk were all on the same team 10 years ago, you'd have to imagine it might have been winning quite a bit, right?
• Practically all of these are low-risk, high-reward, especially JVR, Shattenkirk and Geekie. Boston is doing its best Moneyball or 2013 Red Sox impression with these short-term deals. If things aren't going well, it shouldn't be hard to move guys like JVR or Shattenkirk at the deadline for some assets. Boston does only have three picks (Rounds 4-6) in the 2024 draft after all. 
• If things are going well, the Bruins, as we expect, should be in the playoff mix. Now it comes down to how Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman's deals come in, as well as the questions with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Can't imagine Boston can do much else today with needing to fit in the two big RFAs. 
• These signings also tell me Boston wasn't comfortable with rolling the dice and banking on a bottom-six comprised of practically all kids, which is smart. There are still spots to compete for. 

On Lucic...

• We've had a few days to wrap our heads around this. I'm interested to see the bonus structure here. The $1 million cap hit isn't the worst, but I was really holding out hope it would come in under a million.
• Again, this is filling the Nick Foligno spot on the fourth line or perhaps even in a reserve role as the 13th forward. He should open up space for younger players who could be stepping into depth roles between his net-front play, forechecking and physicality. Plus, we'll hear all the talk about intangibles. 
• Can't expect him to kill penalties as Foligno did, and perhaps some speedy players, possibly such as Jakub Lauko or John Beecher, can make up for some of the steps he's lost. We'll see. 
• The pessimist in me can't help but think what factor ticket and centennial jersey sales might have played...

On van Riemsdyk...

• I think is a pretty good gamble for the Bruins. JVR's production obviously slipped on a horrific Philadelphia team last season, but aside from his rookie year, he's been on an 82-game pace for at least 20 goals in the remaining 13 years of his career (injuries, the 2013 lockout and COVID precluded him from actually hitting the mark in those seasons he did not). He's only a season removed from consistently being on a 20-goal pace. 
• Considering everything that went wrong in Philadelphia last season, he could be in line for better production on a better team. He only scored two power-play goals last season, too. I'd expect that to tick up. 
• With it very much looking clear that Bertuzzi will wind up elsewhere, JVR makes for a good fit on the power play and in the middle six. It would absolutely be worthwhile for Boston if he can still play a second-line role. Even then, he should get power play opportunity too. 

On Geekie...

• I'm a fan of this signing. Geekie has size and versatility. He can slot up and down the lineup. We knew the Bruins would be bargain hunting, and JVR and Geekie could both turn out to be bargains. 
• Should make an excellent fit in the middle six, perhaps as the third-line center depending on how things shake out between the waiting game on Patrice Bergeron/David Krejci as well as where Trent Frederic fits in. 
• He plays with a ton of energy. Had a strong playoff run with the Kraken, even if it didn't necessarily translate to the scoresheet (2g, 2a in 13 games).
• There's some underrated playmaking here, too. He ranked 10th in assists per 60 minutes last season among 382 forwards to play at least 500 minutes, WEEI's Scott McLaughlin tweeted.

On Shattenkirk...

• Okay, the Bruins have the market absolutely cornered on BU guys.
• Shattenkirk appears to be in line to fill that 3RD spot vacated by Connor Clifton (who got a nice raise in Buffalo).
• He shoots the puck a ton and was one of the more sought-after offensive defensemen once upon a time. At 34, he's not the same player. There should be upside, though, getting him the heck out of Anaheim and into a system that should suit him well in Boston. He's probably a little more physical than given credit for, too. 
• I'm a little surprised the Bruins didn't just leave it to an open competition between Ian Mitchell, Reilly Walsh or Alec Regula. They should still be in the mix for that spot or a reserve spot. We'll see.
• Again, these signings would have been crazy 10 years ago…

On Brown...

• This is a depth move. Can't see him playing more than a fourth-line or reserve role for the journeyman. Two years at $800k is practically nothing. Apparently, it's one-way, per CapFriendly, which is interesting. 
• Obviously had a penchant for physicality, too, with over two hits per game last season. In the mix for a fourth line or depth role. If he doesn't make the NHL team, then he'll be spending the year in Providence if it is in fact a one-year deal. 
• A former captain at Boston College, too. Neat.

On Richard...

• This is kind of like Kenny Agostino, if you recall, a few years ago. Prolific AHL scorer, who's unlikely to really make a jump in the NHL at this point in his career. Organizational depth.
• Should be a fun, skilled player to watch down in Providence. Good guy to possibly play with Georgii Merkulov and/or Fabian Lysell if they don't crack the varsity club.
• Richard of the Rocket variety, you say?
• Would guess we don't see him in Boston.

On Wotherspoon...

• Good defensive defenseman to add to Providence. Organizational depth as well. 
• Will probably only see him in Boston during the preseason and if there are injury troubles.

On Toporowski...

• Nice to see the undrafted kid get rewarded after playing on an AHL deal last season. 
• Interesting to see if he develops into something.