Bruins Sign Trio

The Boston Bruins announced today that they have signed goaltender Michael DiPietro and defencemen Alec Regula and Reilly Walsh to one-year, two-way contracts for the 2023-2024 season.

DiPietro was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks along with Jonathan Myrenberg on October17, 2022 for Jack Studnicka. Regula was acquired with Ian Mitchell in the June 26, 2023 deal that sent Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks. Walsh was acquired on the same day in a separate deal with the New Jersey Devils for Shane Bowers.

All three will remain restricted free agents when their deals expire next summer with Walsh holding arbitration rights.

With Brandon Bussi and Kyle Keyser signing extensions earlier in the offseason and Shane Starrett brought in on an AHL contract for veteran depth, the blue paint in Providence is crowded. That means two of these four netminders will be destined for the Maine Mariners of the ECHL. Bussi seems like a lock for the starter position so there will be plenty of competition to back him up.

Depth on the right side of the blueline was a big weakness for the Bruins this offseason and General Manager Don Sweeney filled that by bringing in Regula, Mitchell and Walsh.

With Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Kevin Shattenkirk as your three right shots at the NHL level, the next an up was Ryan Mast who had exactly zero professional games under his belt. Now, there is depth and internal competition in Providence to be the next man up in the event one is needed to fill a spot on the big club.

It’s early and there is no way to predict how the rosters in Providence and Boston shape up come opening night. But here’s an early look at Providence:

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