Bruins Assign Forward to Providence Ahead Of NHL’s Roster Freeze

The annual NHL Roster Freeze officially went into effect at 11:59 pm EST on Monday, and with it, the Bruins made an interesting transaction at the last minute.

For those unfamiliar with the NHL Roster Freeze, it essentially prevents any players on active rosters (or IR) from being traded, waived, or loaned to the minor leagues during the holidays.

The freeze will officially be lifted at 12:01 am EST on December 28th.

While Craig Smith cleared waivers on Monday, he wasn’t initially sent to Providence as he suited up during the Bruins’ 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers. After the game, though, that general manager Don Sweeney made his move to beat the freeze.

Don Sweeney assigned forward Craig Smith to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. Scott McLaughlin of WEEI shared the news:

”Craig Smith was indeed assigned to Providence before the midnight holiday roster freeze. We’ll see if he actually reports or if it’s just a paper move. Bruins can accrue more cap space over the next week with him off the NHL roster.”

This is clearly a money move by the Bruins as they look to gain cap space over the holidays and set themselves up for an upcoming deadline trade. Fans shouldn’t be surprised to see the veteran back in the NHL sooner rather than later, as this is a move that needed to be made on paper.

On the season, the 33-year-old Smith has skated in 18 games and has only registered one goal and three assists. While he may not be producing, he is still a key veteran member of this team, but we will see how far that gets him in his final year in Boston.

Stanley Cup Aspirations Cue’ the Duck Boats Pod

The boys are back after a long break but have plenty to talk about as the playoffs are in full swing. We go series by series, looking at how teams have fared so far and who will come out on top. Thanks for listening! Please rate and review our show on your favorite listening platform. Check out our partner's website at www.insidetherink.com for all your latest hockey news.
  1. Stanley Cup Aspirations
  2. The Final Countdown
  3. Here Come the Playoffs
  4. Home Stretch
  5. Kevy Cooks

Discover more from Inside The Rink

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Kevin Santangelo

Co Host of Cue' the Duck Boats Podcast Writer for Inside the Rink

Leave a Reply

Ehlers and Niederreiter Selected to Respective Olympic Teams

Winnipeg Jets forwards Nikolaj Ehlers and Nino Niederreiter were selected to represent Team Denmark and Switzerland. The two forwards were among the first six players named to their national teams on Monday for next February’s Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. Ehlers will represent his country of Denmark, while Niederreiter will represent Switzerland. Ehlers is […]

Read More

Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken Swap Forwards

The Chicago Blackhawks and Seattle Kraken made a trade this morning swapping forwards.

Read More
Alexander Romanov skating for the New York Islanders

Boston Bruins Inquiring About Another Islanders Defenseman

According to Jimmy Murphy of RG Media, the Boston Bruins have been interested in New York Islanders forward JG Pageau and defenseman Noah Dobson in trade talks. Another Islander defenseman is also on the Bruins radar as fellow RG Media insider Stefan Rosner reports that Boston is kicking the tires on the availability of Alexander […]

Read More