One of the reasons the Boston Bruins have emerged as a top-10 team in the Eastern Conference is the fact they’re getting notable contributions from players who aren’t regarded – at least, not entering the season – as stars.

Boston’s brightest star is winger Morgan Geekie. The 27-year-old, who set career-highs in goals (33) and points (57) last season, is currently tied for the NHL lead in goals this season, with 20 goals and 26 points in 27 games. 

Only Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon has as many goals as Geekie, who is on pace for a 61-goal, 79-point season.

While it’s unfair to expect Geekie to score nearly double the amount of goals he’s scored in his best season, Geekie’s climb up the scoring rankings takes a ton of pressure off of Bruins veterans, including star winger David Pastrnak, to do all the heavy lifting. Pastrnak, Geekie's most common linemate this season, has missed the previous two games with an injury. All Geekie has done is step up in his absence, scoring three goals in those two games.

Geekie has emerged as a star for Boston, and he has exceeded all expectations of him when the Bruins signed him as a UFA in the summer of 2023. Up until that point, Geekie’s career highs were nine goals and 28 points as a member of the Seattle Kraken, who picked him off the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster in the NHL’s 2021 expansion draft.

The Bruins knew they had a keeper in him when he posted 17 goals and 39 points in 76 games in 2023-24, and all he’s done since then is grow his offensive game to new heights. 

To be sure, the offense-challenged Kraken could use Geekie’s goal production right about now, especially considering they elected not to tender him a qualifying offer after the 2022-23 season. Seattle’s top scorers have only eight goals this year, so having someone like Geekie, who is still approaching his prime and finding out just how dominant he can be, is a gift from the hockey gods.

Now, the Bruins did take a risk of sorts when they signed Geekie to a six-year, $33-million contract extension this past summer. If Geekie was on track to only score as much as he did in his first year with Boston, they would rightfully have heard they’d overpaid a bit on his new contract. But a $5.5 million annual salary would be considered a great bargain for someone who produced 33 goals in a single season. If that player were on pace to lead the league in goals? Well, that would be downright larceny for the team that acquired that type of contributor.

There are still two-thirds of the season yet to play, and if Geekie’s production does tail off, that won’t take away from his strong start. But he’s setting a new bar for himself, and if the Bruins are to remain a playoff team, they’ll need him to continue to consistently produce goals and points at close to, if not better than, a point-per-game pace.

Remember, Geekie was drafted 67th overall by the Hurricanes in 2017. The most he’s scored in one season, at any level, is the 35 goals he had for the WHL's Tri-City Americans in 2016-17. So he’s a late bloomer, and he’s probably got to start slowing down a bit, right? 

Well, maybe, or maybe not. Geekie’s best days could still be ahead. If that’s the case, the Bruins’ chances of becoming a playoff team in short order are going to be to their liking.   

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