Daily Bean: Bruins Prospects Shine at Beanpot; Preds GM Retiring, ‘Trouble’ in Florida

The Bruins had five prospects hit the scoresheet at the 2026 Beanpot semifinals. 

The four college hockey teams in and around Boston met at the TD Garden for the 73rd Beanpot, and the games featured seven Bruins’ prospects – five of them recorded at least a point, with three having multi-point nights.

A Bruins forward, who is going to the Olympics, was placed on the IR. However, another Bruin was named to his Olympic team, which brings the total to nine (for now, at least). 

Around the league, the Nashville Predators are looking for a new general manager. The Predators’ coaching legend, who became GM three years ago, left his mark on the organization. If you go even further south, the Panthers are “in trouble,” according to one of their star forwards. 

The NHL will enter a roster freeze at 3:00 PM tomorrow; with that, trade talk is happening. The roster freeze is acting as a mini-deadline for teams, and there’s a push to get a Rangers’ star out of Broadway. 

Happy Tuesday, the Bruins return to action from Sunrise, FL, tomorrow night for their final game before the Olympics. 

Boston Bruins

The Bruins will hold a practice from the Panthers’ practice facility at 1:30 PM ET.

The team announced that Elias Lindholm was placed on the injured reserve. He suffered an injury one week ago against the Nashville Predators and has not skated since. With a Bruins practice today, Marco Sturm could have an update on Lindholm’s status for the Olympics. 

Subsequently, the team called Jordan Harris up from his LTI conditioning loan to Providence. Harris, who played in the first four AHL games of his career, tallied an overtime winning goal and two assists. 

Also, Joonas Korpisalo is going to the Olympics! The Finnish goaltender has posted a 10-8-1 record this season, but since the New Year, he is 4-0-1 with a 1.95 GAA and a .930 SV%. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is off the Finnish roster; he has a lower-body injury. 

The Bruins now have nine players from the organization going to Milan. 

The first two Monday nights in February mean one thing: the Beanpot. Boston College took down Harvard 5-1 in the first window, and then Boston University followed up with a shootout win over Northeastern in the late game. Five Bruins’ prospects made their mark on Garden ice last night, an impressive accomplishment for the players on their hopeful future rink. 

The Beanpot final will be the 300th meeting between BC and BU.

The Bruins’ pool of prospects has been busy throughout the season. Catch up on their stats in the Bruins Prospect Notebook. 

Boston Hockey Blog (video via 𝕏): Here is Cole Hutson’s shootout winner that sent the Terriers to the Beanpot final.

NHL News & National Hockey Now

NHL.com: After three years as the general manager in Nashville, Barry Trotz is retiring. He will leave his mark. On July 1, 2024, he signed Steven Stamkos (4 years x $8 million), Jonathan Marchessault (5 years x $5.5 million), and Brady Skjei (7 years x $7 million).

In his press conference, he was very close to putting his emotions on display. He cited wanting to spend more time with his family. 

Florida Hockey Now: “We’re in trouble,” were the words out of Matthew Tkachuk. The Panthers dropped their fourth straight game last night and could not hold onto a two-goal lead in the process. And in unfortunate news, Sam Bennett left the game with an injury. He will be going to the Olympics, though. He is replacing the injured Anthony Cirelli. George Richards has more from the Panthers’ locker room.

Florida sits in last place in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins will play them tomorrow.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Jack Hughes skated after the New Jersey Devils at practice on Monday. He went down with an injury in Thursday’s game against Nashville, and he has missed one game. It is still up in the air as to whether or not Hughes will be ready for today’s Devils game. However, his status for Team USA is not in question. 

Colorado Hockey Now: For the first time this season, the Colorado Avalanche were shut out. The Red Wings scored in the first and last minutes of the game to steal a 2-0 victory in Denver. The Avalanche started the season on fire, but they have not been playing to that level recently. Since the New Year, the Avalanche are 6-7-2. 

Vince Z. Mercogliano – The Athletic (via 𝕏): Artemi Panarin trade discussion is heating up ahead of the roster freeze. Six teams are pushing, and Panarin’s top two choices are the teams in Florida. If not, the Hurricanes and Kings have the best salary cap situation for an extension, and the Sharks and Capitals have the most appealing assets for a trade. 

Sportsnet: Trade board! Nick Kypreos has his third trade board of the season out, and with a roster freeze going into effect tomorrow at 3:00 PM, most of these targets are likely to be moved after the Olympic break. Dougie Hamilton, Artemi Panarin, and Jesper Wallstedt make up the top three. There are no Bruins players on the board, but Jake DeBrusk is a former Bruin, and Matty Beniers’ (Hingham, MA) name has popped up.