Bruins’ Message Clear To Forgotten Veteran Amid ‘Frustrating’ Season
There are hundreds of words that could be used to describe the Boston Bruins’ season.
You could go with the easy choice in ‘historic,’ as the Bruins rewrote the record books once again with their dominant win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night. Other options include ‘dominant,’ ‘fun,’ ‘unforeseen’ or ‘unbelievable.’
Mike Reilly, however, would probably choose ‘frustrating.’
“I asked (Bruins general manager Don Sweeney) about Mike Reilly and his situation,” Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub tweeted Friday. “He admits that Reilly is frustrated with his situation, but that he (Sweeney) told him that he’s ‘still part of the group’ and that injuries could bring him back up to Boston from AHL.”
Reilly, a veteran of eight seasons who came to Boston via a trade at the 2021 NHL Trade Deadline, has found himself fully out of the lineup and stuck in the AHL with the Providence Bruins throughout the majority of the season.
The 29-year-old has played in just 10 games (one assist) for Boston throughout the season, finding himself passed over for the likes of Derek Forbort, Brandon Carlo and Connor Clifton in head coach Jim Montgomery’s lineups. The addition of Dmitry Orlov has proven to make the path back to the NHL even harder on Reilly, as the Bruins are now using a steady rotation of seven defenseman. Reilly is not one of them.
There was a thought that Reilly may be traded prior to Friday’s 3 p.m. trade deadline, but nothing ended up coming to fruition. That means he will have to continue serving as the Bruins’ second emergency option on defense, just as he has all season.
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