Bruins notebook: Morgan Geekie captures Seventh Player Award

To the surprise of no one, Morgan Geekie was named the Bruins Seventh Player Award winner prior to the season finale against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday.

While there may have been a dearth of candidates in this most disappointing of Bs seasons, Geekie would have been a worthy candidate in any year.

After setting a career-high in goals with 17 last season, he obliterated that personal best this season with 32.

Its been a bittersweet season for Geekie.

While hes proud of his personal accomplishment, he really wished Tuesdays game wasnt the teams last for the season.

Its tough to comprehend scoring 30 goals.

Its the best league in the world and Im proud of myself with the way the year went and where Im at now, said Geekie after the Bs morning skate.

But you always strive to get better.

And then the year we had as a team, its like Where did it go wrong? I know I scored 30 goals, but how do we get someone else 25? ...Its nice to see a little bit of a reward for all the hard work, but I think I can still grow as a player, get better defensively and bring even more to the team.

There have been signings on which you can second-guess GM Don Sweeney but inking Geekie has not been one of them.

The 26-year-old Geekie, who was not tendered a qualifying offer from the Seattle Kraken in the summer of 2023, signed a two-year deal for $2 million per season with the Bs and hes gone from being a bottom-six winger to skating and producing on the top line with David Pastrnak.

Like many of the best players in the league, Geekie has focused on self-improvement the last couple of season.

He gives a lot of credit to his skills coach and former Bruin farmhand Jonathan Sigalet, with whom hes been working since the summer of 2022.

They do about a dozen on-ice sessions in the offseason and, during the season, Sigalet will cut videos of his games and give his feedback and analysis.

I think he helps just trying to see it from a different perspective.

I feel like when I play and watch my own clips, I have a biased approach most times.

Most guys have that.

So to have another look at it is good, said Geekie.

He sees things that a player would see and it gives me just a little bit of a different look.

Hes helped me with making plays in small areas and the one thing he always preaches is just trying to give the next guy the puck in a better spot than you had it, even if its not that much better.

I got two guys on me, hes got one, you might as well give it to that guy and we keep improving until we get a good opportunity.

Sigalet, who was at the Garden on Tuesday with the Boston Junior Terrier team he coaches, has growing NHL clientele that includes Zach Wereknski, Jake Sanderson and Noah Hanifin.

Hes not surprised to see the growth in the pending RFAs game.

Hes been awesome, not just as a student but as a person.

Hes so good to deal with.

This years been super fun.

This is the first real chance to play in a top-of-the-lineup role and hes taken it and run with it, said Sigalet.

I dont think its lost on anyone how lucky he is to be playing with Pastrnak, but it still takes a special skill set to read the game the way Dave does, to be in the right spots when he needs to be and to find Pasta when hes open.

I think hes surprised a lot of people but I wont say Im too surprised.

I dont think its a flash in the pan by any means.

I think hes legit and hopefully they find a way to keep him here long-term because thats a real chemistry those two have.

Another area of improvement, with which Geekie has fiddled with on his own, has been his one-timer.

He already had a heavy wrist shot but hes improved the quick rip, which has been not only helpful to him but to Pastrnaks helper numbers.

Pastrnak set a career-mark in assists last year with 63 and went into Tuesdays season finale with 62.

Geekie has been on the receiving end of many of them.

The opportunities for one-timers while playing with two fellow righties (Pastrnak and, lately, Elias Lindholm) are plentiful all over the ice, said Geekie.

Throughout the year Ive put a lot of work into it and Ive changed my stick and just tried to do a few things to make it a little better, said Geekie.

Its definitely improved from where it was.

I remember growing up, you took one-timers when you werent doing anything productive and it was always fun hitting one-timers.

So its been good to try and make it an asset for me.

Geekie is a restricted free agent with arbitration rights.

While its dangerous to assume that a deal will be worked out in this uncertain offseason, Geekie is under the Bs control and it would seem foolish on the teams part not to get a deal done, one way or another.

If he does return, Geekie could very well be part of the still-materializing leadership group with Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy.

Hes admittedly not a vocal, rah-rah guy.

But from his experience of working with is younger brother Connor, now with Lightning organization, he believes he can be a good sounding board for some of the young players who are expected to come into the organization over the next few years.

Its something that Id love to do and Ive said it before, Id love to stay here as long as I can.

Id love to be a part of it, said Geekie.

Speaking of kids, Geekie invited the young Terrier players on Tuesday to give fist bumps to Bruin players as they headed onto the ice for warmups.

The Terriers were set to take part in the Three Minutes of Fame between-period competition and Geekie thought it would be a treat for them to interact with some NHL players.

I remember we didnt have an NHL team in Manitoba at the time (he was growing up), but I remember going to the Wheat Kings (the major junior team in Brandon) and theyd let us go through the room at the end of the game and it was like the best thing ever, said Geekie.

I know how much it means to those kids.

Its one of those things that theyll always have as a memory.....

The coaching staff is not immune to the uncertainty that surrounds the team heading into the offseason and its anyones guess what will become of interim coach Joe Sacco.

He wasnt given the best hand with Hampus Lindholm already out of the lineup with a season-ending injury, with McAvoy soon to follow and then the trade-deadline purge.

But for better and worse, Sacco got the gutted lineup to compete after pulling it back from the abyss of a 0-5 west coast trip.

Ive enjoyed the whole experience.

Wed all like to be in a different spot than where we are but Ive tried to make sure that weve given the guys the best information to succeed, said the ling-time Bruins assistant.

But its just been good to make those final decisions at times.

You hope theyre the right ones most of the time....

McAvoy is the Bruins nominee for King Clancy Memorial Trophy.

Hes one of 32 nominees for the award given to the player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community..

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