Bruins place former first-round pick on waivers

The Bruins have placed left-shot defenseman Jakub Zbořil on waivers, as reported by Chris Johnston of The Athletic and TSN. Considering Zbořil has been on assignment to AHL Providence since Oct. 28, the Bruins likely made this move for the purposes of a contract termination.

It is unclear at this time whether a potential contract termination is mutual or for cause. Zbořil, the 13th overall pick in the 2015 draft, was scratched in Providence’s last game against the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Dec. 9.

The 26-year-old defenseman was the first of Boston’s now-infamous three consecutive first-round selections in 2015. Their selections of Zbořil, Jake DeBrusk and Zachary Senyshyn with the 13th through 15th overall picks were immediately followed by the Islanders selecting Mathew Barzal 16th overall, the Jets selecting Kyle Connor 17th overall and the Senators selecting Thomas Chabot 18th overall. While DeBrusk remains an effective top-nine forward, he’s not the caliber of either Barzal, Connor or Chabot.

Zbořil failed to crack the Bruins roster out of camp this year after doing so in 2020, 2021 and 2022. He went unclaimed on waivers in early October and accepted an assignment to Providence, where he’s logged seven assists and a -5 rating in 19 games, his first AHL time in over three years.

Since making his NHL debut in November 2018, Zbořil has played just 76 games for the Bruins, recording one goal, 15 assists, 16 points, and 135 shots on goal while averaging 15:38 per game. He’s never been able to surpass the role of Boston’s seventh defenseman, playing in a career-high 42 games in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 campaign. His possession numbers have largely been negligible, although in 22 games for the Bruins last season, he posted a Corsi share of 47.6% at even strength – a disappointing figure given the Bruins’ record-setting dominance.

If this is the end of the road for Zbořil in Boston, it ends a disappointing tenure for the organization’s highest-drafted prospect since they selected blueliner Dougie Hamilton ninth overall in 2011. His contract carries a $1.14M cap hit with $1.3M due this season in actual salary, making a potential claim over the next 24 hours extremely unlikely. He was slated for unrestricted free agency in the summer.

Assuming Zbořil is indeed headed for contract termination, he would become an unrestricted free agent tomorrow and can sign with any NHL, AHL or European professional team. It would not be surprising to see Zbořil return to his home country of Czechia, where he last suited up for his hometown club HC Kometa Brno in 2020 while the NHL remained on pause due to COVID-19.