The Bruins made a roster move Thursday afternoon, placing forward Michael Eyssimont on waivers with the intention of assigning him to AHL Providence.
That decision points toward Matthew Poitras being close to a return, possibly as soon as tomorrow against Ottawa after opening the season on injured reserve. Boston is expected to send Eyssimont down, but there’s no guarantee he clears.
Eyssimont hasn’t played in the AHL since 2022-23, and since then he’s logged 249 NHL games across the Sharks, Lightning, Kraken and Bruins. After leaving Seattle, he signed a two-year deal with Boston in 2025 and appeared in 56 games for the club last season, finishing with 18 points, 54 hits and a steady role as an energy bottom-six winger. The Littleton, Colorado native also has a solid NHL résumé beyond Boston, including an 81-game season with the 45-win Lightning three years ago when he posted 11 goals and 25 points.
His season in Boston started well enough, but by the end he had become more of a rotational piece. He played in two of the Bruins’ six playoff games against Buffalo and didn’t record a point.
A former fifth-round pick of the Kings in 2016, Eyssimont is not used on the penalty kill and is more often the kind of player who ends up in the box after leaning into the agitator role. Last season, teams started nearly 58% of his five-on-five shifts in the defensive zone. He’s often listed as a center, but at the NHL level he has rarely spent meaningful time there and is instead used as a left-shooting, versatile winger who can take a faceoff here and there.
Boston’s current fourth line, with Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic handling the physical work, plus the arrival of youngsters Poitras and James Hagens, leaves little room for Eyssimont right now. If he does clear, he’d give Providence a useful veteran piece and could still be a call-up option later on if injuries open a lane.
With a cap hit of $1.45 million that runs through this summer, Eyssimont also profiles as a player another team could claim. Depending on what happens over the next 24 hours, the Bruins are expected to have about $7.5 million in cap space to work with.
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