"Genuinely a terrible call": B's faithful shocked as Boston Bruins make "insane" roster change involving Matt Poitras

The Boston Bruins made a surprising roster move on Monday, assigning forward Matt Poitras to their AHL affiliate, the Providence Bruins. Poitras is heading to the AHL for the first time in his young pro career.

He has scored one goal and added three assists in 14 games with Boston this season.

The decision to send Poitras to the AHL has sparked outrage among some loyal Bruins fans.

One fan tweeted:

"Diabolically insane."

Another fan wrote:

"Genuinely a terrible call," on X.

Here are some fan reactions:

"Why would you bury a young player who's been a consistent contributor offensively and defensively," one fan wrote on X.

"Oh yeah, that should fix things. Personally, I thought he was playing harder than some of the high paid ‘ talent’." another fan wrote.

"BRO WHAT??????????????????, this is the dumbest shit ive seen... someone needs a smack, really hard, Imagine leaving Geekie in the lineup over poitras," a user commented.

"I think it's because they don't want him to get seriously injured again and miss more time. He needs to bulk up more. He's a great player and a great kid, and he will be back. Let him develop down in Providence by getting more minutes, rather that sitting upstairs." another user wrote.

The demotion may be related to the Bruins' decision to move Pavel Zacha back to center. Zacha's return to that position last week provided encouraging results that made Poitras, who has struggled on the wing, more expendable. Morgan Geekie is also expected to join the Bruins lineup.

Poitras, picked 54th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 2022 draft, scored five goals and 15 points in 33 NHL games last season.

Boston Bruins' HC Jim Montgomery on Matthew Poitras

Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery spoke about rookie forward Matthew Poitras demotion to the AHL.

When asked about areas for Poitras to focus on, Montgomery replied:

"More of an impact in the game. Making more plays and understanding our structure.... Other guys getting opportunity."

Earlier last week, Montgomery also praised some aspects of Poitras' game:

"He's a creative player. He comes up with a lot of pucks on one-on-one battles. That's an area he's vastly improved....He puts himself in some bad situations, which he needs to learn from those. But we just love how combative he is. He’s a competitive fighter.” (as per Boston.com)

Montgomery made it clear he sees potential in the young Poitras but feels some AHL development time will be beneficial.