There hasn’t been a great deal of breaking news related to the Boston Bruins of late, but there is no shortage of topics to discuss.
The B’s have been hinting at an eventual return to the team for goaltender Tuukka Rask, and given his recent hip surgery, that’s a months-long timeline if it comes to fruition. By the time he will be available, the club and GM Don Sweeney will have a much better idea of how needed his services will be, and what needs to happen to fit a future contract extension under the salary cap.
We previously took a deeper dive into free agent signing Linus Ullmark, and what his presence means in Boston. The team is in good hands between Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in the short term, so we won’t read too much into a possible Rask signing until the time comes.
In the meantime, the B’s brought in a veteran two-way forward with some interesting ties to the city of Boston through his family in Nick Foligno. The former 1st-round pick of the Ottawa Senators in 2006 is one of the more respected players in the league and was the Columbus Blue Jackets’ captain before a trade deadline deal sent him to Toronto. We’ll break down his game, intangibles and what to expect from Foligno, who will wear his father’s No. 17 in the Black and Gold.
One prospect who is drawing interest is Oshawa Generals center Brett Harrison. Chosen by the B’s in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft’s third round, he represents value and upside. After watching him at the team’s development camp earlier this month, we’ll tell you why.
Foligno: Experience, versatility, character and leadership
In the NHL, there are certain players who earn the respect of opponents for their playing style and tenacity, so when Sweeney had a chance to land the 33-year-old on the open market, he closed the deal. For years, the Bruins had battled against him over his 957-game NHL career, taking note of his all-around game and tenacity.
A difficult opponent to play against, Foligno was someone Boston felt was worth committing to. For his part, the feeling was mutual.
“I think the track record speaks for itself,” he said of the decision to sign with the Bruins over other suitors. “Playing against them all these years, they’re a team that I’ve admired from afar. Their culture, their structure. They’re always in the thick of it. They’re always a team that seems to have a chance to win on any given night, and also in the postseason.”
The B’ secured him on a two-year, $7.6 million contract with a reasonable $3.8 million average annual value. The deal does come with a full no move clause in the first year, which becomes a 16-team no-trade list in 2022-23 per the Cap Friendly website. One of the clubs Boston reportedly outbid was the Minnesota Wild, which would have reunited Foligno with his younger brother, Marcus.
Instead, he passed on 10,000 lakes to bring his family to the city where his daughter received life-saving care at Boston Children’s Hospital nearly three years ago. It is the same place that his father, Mike, used to draw the ire of so many Bruins fans in the 1980’s as a member of the Buffalo Sabres. The elder Foligno played 1,018 career NHL games and scored 355 goals, most of his pro career spent in Western New York. He had 149 or more penalty minutes in every one of his Buffalo seasons save for one. Mike Foligno was tough, and so is his eldest son. He may have been a villain in the Boston Garden at the height of the Bruins-Sabres rivalry, but his boy will be a fan favorite at TD Garden.
“Yeah, he had a good laugh,” he said when asked about his father’s reaction to the decision. “We actually just looked at each other when I signed, before we hugged, and just started laughing. All the battles that he’s had – I mean, he got boo’d more than anybody, I think, in that arena. So, I’m hoping to change around the boos for him and have some people cheering for a Foligno on the back of a jersey now.”
Even though he’s leaving his prime playing years, Foligno will succeed with the Bruins because he does the little things. A versatile player who can slot in at any of the forward positions, the coaches will instantly be able to trust him to take a shift in any situation, including the penalty kill. He can play up and down in the Boston lineup. No longer a reliable 20-30 goal scorer, he will bring a positive impact to the team, like a left-shooting version of Craig Smith. Even if his advanced stats have declined over the past several seasons, there’s still value in the middle of the roster, as he won't be asked to do as much for his new team.
In the room, you won’t find many better humans than Foligno. The fact that Patrice Bergeron personally called to lobby him to take Boston’s offer and join the band tells you all you need to know about the type of person the team is getting. Unlike David Backes, the B’s aren’t counting on Foligno to play a top-six role up front, however. He will be asked to contribute in a variety of ways and provide secondary scoring. He will boost the team culture and bring instant leadership and credibility as he closes in on 1,000 games and 500-point milestones.
One final point: Foligno could have taken his family anywhere, but believed in his heart this is the place for him, in part because the city helped saved his daughter’s heart.
“I was really thrilled that it ended up working out in Boston,” he said. “It was a humbling day in a lot of ways, that teams were interested. I just feel like this is the right fit for me and my family. Ultimately, I’m a dad. A family of three kids and I want them to be just as comfortable. Because a lot of times, how they feel off the ice makes me play that much better on it. And I think that’s why I chose Boston.”
Harrison: Draft value and upside as scoring center
He was not expected to be available at the end of the third round, but the B’s did well to come away with the OHL center. Harrison’s fall in the draft might have been less about concerns about his game and more to do with the lack of exposure when the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the entire 2020-21 season in Ontario. He did play some games in Europe and was on Canada’s gold medal-winning World Under-18 Championship squad.
The 84th player chosen in July’s draft (85th overall due to the forfeiture of Arizona’s 11th overall selection) is described in the 2021 Red Line Report draft guide as a “slick, creative center with size and great hands.”
The 6-foot-2, 185-pound left-shooting pivot has size and skill. The 16th overall selection in the 2019 OHL draft by the Oshawa Generals has always been more of a finisher. He scored 52 goals in 46 regular and postseason games with the London Jr. (AAA) Knights, then followed that up with 21 tallies as an OHL rookie.
“Fires hard, deceptive shots right out of toe drags while walking around defenders. Really good finisher in close- has the patience to outwait goalies and can roof it in tight,” reads Harrison’s Red Line scouting report. The independent service had him rated as the 15th player overall, but it was not a consensus view. Top analyst TSN Bob McKenzie had Harrison 57th based on his annual polling of NHL scouts and insiders, which better predicts the way the draft will fall. Either way, the B’s got good value.
Harrison will need to improve his skating, particularly his first several steps. He’s above average in terms of straight-line speed and does have the ability to separate from defenders, but the initial acceleration and ability to get to loose pucks in small areas need to be addressed. Like most players his age, he will need to add muscle mass and get stronger.
At Boston’s Aug. development camp, he was a little unsure of himself at first, but gradually got more comfortable and impactful. That was to be expected for the 18-year-olds who were getting their first exposure to the organization, but watch for him to take a bigger step this season in the OHL.
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Watch for Harrison to score 30-40 goals this season with Oshawa and emerge as one of Boston’s top 5-10 prospects with a strong season. The team needed more offensive talent up the middle, and they got it. He’s a natural finisher, which tends to translate at the higher levels.
Gone too soon
Our deepest condolences and sympathies are with the families and friends of Delta Hockey Academy players Parker Magnuson, Caleb Reimer and Ronin Sharma, who were killed in a single-vehicle accident in Surrey, British Columbia earlier this weekend. All three, aged 16- and 17-years-old, were just beginning their hockey careers in earnest and are gone much too soon.
