Daily Bean: Bruins Gameday; Trade Talks, Roster Freeze Looms

The Boston Bruins take to the ice tonight for their final game before the Olympic break.

The rosters also freeze this afternoon; the Bruins cannot make moves besides certain transactions with Providence. The rosters will be frozen throughout the Olympic break, where nine members of the organization are headed to Milan to represent their home countries. One player was added to the Bruins’ list yesterday, and the expectation is that the B’s will not lose any representatives. 

With the roster freeze looming, teams are making last efforts to make a trade before the 3:00 PM window; it’s a mini trade deadline. The Rangers have a forward, who they are not playing, available to suitors. Also, the Blues set their price high for their first-line center. The price should drive teams away from making the trade. 

Rick Tocchet made some comments on a Flyers’ podcast, and Danny Briere had to meet with the media to address those comments. Matvei Michkov, the seventh-overall pick in 2023, was the center of the conversation. Elsewhere in league news, the Leafs are hot, and UMass lands another Czech commit; this time, he is Colorado’s prospect.

Happy Wednesday, here is the Daily Bean: 

Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins (32-20-4) are in Sunrise, Florida, for the second of only three meetings with the Panthers (28-24-3) this year. Florida is currently on a four-game skid, and although they have a .536 points percentage, they rank eighth in the Atlantic Division. 

And both teams will be wearing the sweaters they wore outdoors: the Panthers will be in red, the Bruins will be in yellow. 

Also, in Bruins news: Joonas Korpisalo was named to Finland’s Olympic team on Tuesday morning, and after the B’s practiced on Tuesday, Marco Sturm issued an update on Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm’s Olympic status. 

ESPN PR: The 2026 Stadium Series was the most-viewed NHL regular season game on cable. It overtook the 2019 Winter Classic (Bruins at Blackhawks, Notre Dame, IN). Viewership averaged 2.1 million viewers, and peaked at 2.4 million; the game was up 30% on last year’s Stadium Series. It’s the third straight year that the Stadium Series has posted better numbers than the Winter Classic. 

The AHL: Providence’s Michael DiPietro was named the AHL Goaltender of the Month. DiPietro posted an 8-1-0 record in January with a 1.33 GAA and .947 SV%. In five of his nine appearances, he allowed one goal; he had a shutout as well. DiPietro won the Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award as the AHL’s best goaltender last season, and has an 18-5-0 record this year. 

Providence plays Bridgeport tonight at 7:00 PM in Connecticut. 

NHL News & National Hockey Now

PuckPedia: At 3:00 PM ET, the Olympic roster trade freeze goes into effect. It’s in place until February 22 at 11:59 PM ET. No trades are allowed, and waiver-exempt players (with certain exceptions) can be sent down to the AHL. If a team waives a player and another team claims him, the player does not have to report until February 17. Read more about the roster freeze on PuckPedia. 

Forever Blueshirts: With that, top trade target Artemi Panarin is still not with the Rangers. Their leading scorer has not been practicing either. Mike Sullivan confirmed that if he is still on the roster, he will not be playing in New York’s game tomorrow. 

Playing without Panarin has not been easy for the Rangers. They have not won without him in the lineup, and are sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference (22-28-6). 

32 Thoughts: The Podcast: In yesterday’s edition, I linked to a trade board. On that trade board was St. Louis forward Robert Thomas. Nick Kypreos reported that the asking price is higher than Rantanen’s last year. Or, something equivalent to three top-15 picks. Friedman reported that there are only a few teams with the assets that the Blues want to complete a deal. Kyle Bukauskas added that Doug Armstrong will not allow himself to be pushed into softening the return.

The Blues forward will be out until after the Olympics with a minor leg injury.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils traded Ondrej Palat to the New York Islanders, and now they have just under $7 million in cap space. New Jersey is eight points behind the Islanders, chasing them for a playoff spot with a meeting happening before the Olympic break. However, the two games before the break are critical to what direction the Devils go at the deadline. James Nichols brings you more from his discussion with Senior reporter Arthur Staple. 

Philly Hockey Now: Put away any concerns with Flyers’ forward Matvei Michkov. Danny Briere met with the media to address the smoke around Michkov’s name, particularly after Rick Tocchet took to a Flyers podcast to air him out. For more on Briere’s conversation about Michkov and head coach Rick Tocchet, Will James has the takeaways from the GM’s presser.

Briere wrapped it up by saying: “Rick knows how important [Michkov] is to the future of this organization. He wants to make it work.”

Sportsnet: Every time I mention this team, the opposite happens. Well, the Toronto Maple Leafs, after going winless in six, have won three straight games. It was a spirited game in Edmonton last night. The Maple Leafs crowd traveled well and brought out loud dueling chants as Toronto skated to a 5-2 win. 

Can the recent success change the Maple Leafs plans at the trade deadline? 

HockeyFights (video via YouTube): Former Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo got into a fight in that game last night, taking on another No. 25 in Darnell Nurse. Carlo is 6-foot-5, standing one inch taller than the 6-foot-4 Nurse. 

Colorado Hockey Now: UMass is landing another Colorado Avalanche prospect. Max Curran, 19, was drafted by the Avalanche in the fifth round of the 2024 draft. He is a native of Prague, Czechia. He played for his country at the 2026 World Junior Championships (7 GP, 1-4–5). Curran is currently playing with the Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL).  

He will join Bruins prospect and fellow countryman, Vashek Blanár, in Amherst next year.