Boston's streaky forward sent the front office a message on his future.
With the NHL trade deadline just 12 days away, the path the Boston Bruins are going to take remains to be seen. We may get some clarity on Sunday when GM Don Sweeney speaks with the media following the Bruins practice at Warrior Ice Arena.
Boston didn't do themselves any favors on Saturday night in their first game back from the 4 Nations Face-Off when they dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Anaheim Ducks at the TD Garden. It was a victory for the fans who want a sell and retool by March 7.
One player who has risen to be the Black and Gold's top trade chips if Sweeney wants to sell some pieces off, it's Morgan Geekie. After the loss to Anaheim, the former Seattle Kraken forward sent a loud and clear message to the front office about his future in Boston.
Morgan Geekie sends loud message to the Bruins front office
Production-wise, only David Pastrnak has been better for the Bruins than Geekie, who has had a knack for scoring key goals late in games. Against the Ducks, he tied the game with 1:11 left when he scored with the extra skater, but the officials initially waived the goal off. Boston interim coach Joe Sacco challenged the call and the situation room in Toronto overturned it and called it a good goal. Meeting with the media in the locker room, Geekie made it clear where he wants to continue his career after this year.
"I want to be a Bruin,'' Geekie said. "I'd love to be a Bruin as long as I can be. It's not up to me, and I'm just going to go out there and play. I love every guy in here, everything about the organization."
This is quite the message the 26-year-old is sending. His goal against Anaheim was his 18th of the season, which is a new career-high from the 17 he scored last season for the Bruins. After two struggling seasons with the Kraken, GM Ron Francis did not give him a qualifying offer following the 2022-23 season as a restricted free agent, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent and Boston pounced on him.
He signed a two-year contract in the summer of 2023 during a free-agent spending spree by Sweeney when he handed out mostly one-year deals and Geekie has delivered. He has been playing on a contract that carries a $2 million AAV and he'll be looking for a pay increase this summer as a free agent. The question is, will Boston give that to him?
That's what Sweeney needs to figure out before March 7. If a deal can be agreed on between Geekie and the Bruins, then a deal likely gets done. If Boston doesn't see him as part of the future or there is just too much of a gap in money between the two parties, then Sweeney must strike at the deadline and get some assets in return. Regardless of what happens, Geekie has told the front office where he wants to be and now it's sit and wait to see what happens.
