Bruins’ Poitras’ Rookie Season Ends Abruptly

The Bruins released the following two statements on the matter:

“Matthew Poitras underwent a successful right shoulder open stabilization (Latarjet) procedure today, February 7,” said Bruins’ medical director Dr. Peter Asnis. “The surgery was performed by Dr. Thomas Holovacs at Massachusetts General Brigham Hospital. The expected recovery time is approximately five months.”

The second statement came from general manager Don Sweeney.

“Matt has been an important part of our team’s success thus far, and he will be missed. Our medical staff made the recommendation for Matt to proceed with the surgery rather than continue playing with an unstable shoulder and risking further damage. Everyone involved supported the decision as to do what was best for him at this time. Matt is just starting his Bruins career and is a key part of our future.”

Poitras’s Rookie Reason Was a Success

In the end, the decision to end Poitras’ season came as a long-sighted move aimed at preventing further damage to the Bruins’ young center. Poitras came into the NHL way ahead of schedule and played a hard-nosed style of hockey at just 175 pounds. For a teenager coming into a league and playing against grown men, the NHL schedule can be grueling; this was the case for Poitras who never backed down from his style of play despite how tough it proved to be.

The Bruins have a very solid player in Poitras who could be a building block for the team for years to come. This was a welcome discovery given the team’s lack of in-house center options who were primed to step up and replace Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci in the long run. Finding legitimate top-tier centers in the NHL is a hard prospect and the Bruins may have done so with their 2022 second-round pick. Poitras would finish his rookie campaign with five goals and 15 points in 33 games and ranked well amongst his peers of 18 and 19-year-old players.

Building the confidence to get to this point and experiencing an NHL schedule was great for Poitras’ development; there are still areas he needs to improve and that comes with time, but all signs are pointing towards No. 51 being a legitimate NHL player. His ceiling is anybody’s guess, but he should find himself in an NHL lineup for as long as he’s willing to continue putting in the work and playing a winning brand of hockey.

For the Bruins, this may open up the door for an addition at the trade deadline as the team looks to make a competitive run in the postseason. Finding a solid middle-six center was already something the team was likely considering, and this only amplified the need.