Morgan Geekie signed a six-year, $33 million contract with the Boston Bruins on Sunday. It has an average annual value of $5.5 million.
The 26-year-old forward set NHL career highs in goals (33), assists (24) and points (57) in 77 games this season, his second with Boston. He could have become a restricted free agent Tuesday.
“I think ever since I got here, I’ve enjoyed my time in Boston,” Geekie said, “so for me to be able to continue to be a Bruin, and kind of take the next step as a player and continue to grow my game is huge.
“We kind of talked to them for a while, as the season ended and things kind of went from there, so it took a little bit, but it’s good. I love to be in Boston and it’s an exciting time for me and my family and I’m excited to get started next season.”
Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes in the third round (No. 67) of the 2017 NHL Draft, Geekie has 159 points (72 goals, 87 assists) in 333 regular-season games with the Hurricanes, Seattle Kraken and Bruins, and 10 points (six goals, four assists) in 37 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“I wanted to be a Bruin, for sure,” Geekie said. “I think that was a big part of it. I knew that and (general manager) Don (Sweeney) knew that. There was mutual interest.”
The Bruins (33-39-10) finished last in the Atlantic Division after making the Stanley Cup Playoffs the previous eight seasons. Marco Sturm was named coach June 5.
“Obviously the year we had didn’t go to anybody’s plan, but to be able to build off that, I think it’s somewhere I wanted to be, and I see our team taking a big step next year in terms of growth,” Geekie said. “We got dealt a pretty tough hand with a couple guys going down and just the way the year played out, but I’m excited about the group we have and excited to see what we can do next year and in years to come.”
The Bruins signed three more players Monday — Henri Jokiharju, John Beecher and Michael DiPietro.
Jokiharju, a defenseman who could have become an unrestricted free agent Tuesday, signed a three-year, $9 million contract ($3 million AAV). The 25-year-old had 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 60 games this season between the Bruins and Buffalo Sabres. He has 97 points (19 goals, 78 assists) in 407 games with the Bruins, Sabres and Chicago Blackhawks. He was a first-round pick (No. 29) by the Blackhawks at the 2017 draft.
Beecher had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 78 games for Boston this season. The 24-year-old forward has 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists) in 130 games, all with the Bruins after they selected him in the first round (No. 30) of the 2019 NHL Draft. He signed a one-year contract for $900,000.
DiPietro, a 25-year-old goalie, was 26-8-5 with a 2.05 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and four shutouts in 40 games this season for Providence of the American Hockey League. He is 0-2-0 with a 5.28 GAA and .771 save percentage in three NHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, who selected him in the third round (No. 64) of the 2017 draft. DiPietro received a two-year NHL contract with an AAV of 812,500.
NHL.com senior writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report
