When the Boston Bruins signed Connor Clifton and Jordan Harris early on July 1 while missing out on bigger names like Jacob Trouba, John Carlson and Darnell Nurse, it was assumed that the B’s were done shopping for blueliners with some very modest returns.
But then late in the day on the first day of NHL free agent frenzy, the Bruins made their move to shore up the right side of their defense by trading draft picks (a second round pick in 2027 and a third round pick in 2028) to the New York Rangers for 29-year-old Minnesota native Will Borgen.
The former Sabres, Kraken and Rangers D-man isn’t a big point producer, sleek puck-mover or a power play quarterback, but what he is is a 6-foot-3, 199-pound defender that can kill penalties, stabilize things in the defensive zone and likely absorb top-4 minutes in a way that guys like Andrew Peeke, Henri Jokiharju and Mason Lohrei struggled with at times last season.
“My role, I feel like it’s always pretty much the same. I try to be competitive every night, play hard against the other team’s top players, if I can, if I’m playing against them,” said Borgen. “If I’m not, play hard against whoever. I try to play a physical game and mostly on the defensive side. If I can move the puck forward to the forwards and let them do their work, and every once in a while, if I can join. I don’t know where I’ll shake out in the lineup. But wherever it is, I’m just happy to help.”
The good news is that Borgen has friendly faces on this Bruins team like former Kraken teammate Morgan Geekie, and Casey Mittelstadt during his brief cup of coffee with the Sabres back in the 2018-19 season. It’s actually crazy looking back at that roster with old, familiar faces like Vladimir Sobotka and Matt Hunwick that logged games on that Buffalo hockey club that season as well.
That kind of familiarity will aid Borgen, even if switching up teams has become a little bit more like “old hat” to him at this point.
“It is always unexpected, but it is part of the job, part of business, and it happens. I just got the news, and I was very happy with where it was to. I love the city of Boston, and I know a handful of the guys on the team,” said Borgen back on July 1 while speaking to the Bruins media. “(Former Seattle teammate Morgan Geekie) texted me right away. It’s nice. I’m very happy to be back with him. Geeks is one of my good buddies from the hockey world.
“We always make it a point to see each other when we were playing against each other after our Seattle time together. We’re both very excited to be back together. He’s had nothing but good things to say about Boston, and the group especially.
It remains to be seen what other moves are left to reshuffle the Bruins defensive deck with 10 defenders entering camp with legit claims on an NHL spot, but one guy that isn’t going anywhere will be Borgen after he was one of the prized acquisitions to headline Boston’s offseason moves.
*Pretty unfortunate news over the last couple of weeks that the annual Prospects Showcase in Buffalo that culminates B’s rookie camp is only going to be limited to
