The Boston Bruins woke up this morning with two games left in 2025. They woke up sitting 14th in the Eastern Conference and seventh in the Atlantic Division.
This recent five-game losing streak and overall 1-5-1 stretch have torpedoed the Bruins' extremely strong November (9-4-0) and a stretch of 15-6-0 hockey from October 28 to December 11.
As the Bruins look for answers after the Buffalo Sabres defeated Boston 4-1 on Saturday, they ship out to the Pacific Northwest, beginning with a date tonight with the Calgary Flames inside the Scotiabank Saddledome, with puck drop coming just after 9 o'clock on the East Coast.
Yesterday, six fresh names hit the waiver wire after the NHL's Holiday Roster Freeze lifted. There are two names that immediately could be on Boston's radar.
First, old friend Danton Heinen could make a lot of sense for the Bruins. This season, he's split time with the Pittsburgh Penguins and their AHL Affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In the NHL, he's played 13 games, posting one goal and one assist in limited minutes.
In the AHL, he's proven too good for the league, with six goals and 17 points in 12 games. Claiming Heinen would mean a reunion with the Bruins, where in 2023-24, he scored 17 goals and 36 points over 74 games.
It would be his third stint with the organization, with the Bruins also originally drafting him in the fourth round of the 2014 NHL Draft. Heinen played four seasons with the Bruins from 2016-17 through 2019-20, before the team dealt him to the Anaheim Ducks for Nick Ritchie.
Heinen would be an excellent fit for Bruins' Head Coach Marco Sturm's defense-first and counter-attacking style. He would fit better than Marat Khusnutdinov has on the fourth line, with Khusnutdinov's style looking much better in the top six.
The other name that Boston should at least ponder is Jusso Valimaki from the Utah Mammoth. Last season, Valimaki tore his ACL, and has been on the mend since.
Prior to that, he'd been a stable top four defenseman for Utah (and previously the Arizona Coyotes), capable on both ends of the ice, with a 34-point season back in 2022-23.
He has struggled with some injuries, which have stalled his growth, but he has clear value. It may not be likely that Boston targets him, as he also shoots left, and recent pickup Vladislav Kolyachonok also does so, but Valimaki might just be better for depth and talent purposes.
The Bruins have an open roster space right now, carrying just 22 players after demoting Matej Blumel and Michael Callahan on Sunday. However, Boston likely created that spot to activate Jonathan Aspirot from injured reserve.
Since Aspirot's injury, the team's 1-5-1 slide began. Whether or not Aspirot can play tonight could be a deciding factor in either claim, but Heinen makes a ton of sense.
Valimaki would be more of a dart throw, with the team betting on a health recovery and potential bounce back, with some strong upside to improve the backend.
Still, the team could use a dart throw. On the right side, Ethan Bear's also on waivers coming off an injury and has not played a game this season. He could also be worth a glance.
Most likely, Boston will not claim anyone this afternoon. If they do, Heinen makes the most sense. He's a perfect fit for the bottom six and can add scoring to this team.
Waiver news drops just after 2 o'clock on the East Coast.