BOSTON — The Bruins acquired Lee Stempniak in a trade with the New Jersey Devils on Monday, giving them a logjam of forwards.
B’s general manager Don Sweeney confirmed after the 3 p.m. ET deadline that Max Talbot, Joonas Kemppainen and Zac Rinaldo had all been assigned to the American Hockey League’s Providence Bruins.
“As I mentioned yesterday, it was about getting ahead of the deadline to have some flexibility depending on the players who may or may not be acquired,” Sweeney said. “Very difficult conversations to have with players at that particular time.
“I’ll sit with (B’s head coach Claude Julien) tonight and spend some time looking at our roster going forward. You have to manage the recall situation. Now it’s about putting forth the best team on the ice we possibly can each and every night to win our hockey games and get us where we want to be.”
These assignments give the Bruins 12 forwards for Tuesday night’s game against the Calgary Flames at TD Garden, assuming Stempniak makes it to Boston on time. Landon Ferraro is the most likely candidate to center the fourth line.
The B’s have 19 games left in the regular season.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
