This past offseason saw a number of Boston Bruins players leave the organization after being around for a while. Some of these big names include Linus UllmarkJake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk, the latter two being draft picks of the team. Others include Danton Heinenwho had a bigger impact in his second spell with the team, and James van Riemsdyk.

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More than a month into the 2024-25 season, it’s a good time to check around the league and see how these former Bruins are doing in their new organizations.

Linus Ullmark

Unlike the rest of this list, Ullmark departed the Bruins via a trade rather than free agency. He was traded to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic and a first pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft that Boston used to select Dean Letourneau.

Goaltending has been an issue in Ottawa for several seasons now, so it makes sense why they gave up a first round pick to get one of the best goalies in the league in recent seasons. So far in 2024-25, Ullmark has been mixed. He has a 4-4-1 record, a goals against average of 2.77 and a save percentage of .890, all below his career average. He also has a shutout against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Similar to Ullmark’s first season with the Bruins, there have been some adjustments as he transitions to a new team. He has struggled to win games on the road and is still adjusting to no longer playing in tandem with Jeremy Swayman where the goalkeepers could easily close out every game. Still, he has shown improvement and even won his first start on the road in his return to Boston as the Senators won 3-2 in overtime.

If Ullmark gets really hot and starts playing closer like he did in 2022-23 when he won the Vezina Trophy, the Senators will be a dangerous team.

Jake DeBrusk

DeBrusk was one out of three first-round pick the Bruins had in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He was the only one of the three to play more than 100 games for the organization. In seven seasons in Boston, he scored 141 goals and 275 points in 479 games. Overall, it was an up-and-down period that included a trade request that was later lifted.

This past summer, DeBrusk signed with the Vancouver Canucks for seven years at an average annual value (AAV) of $5.5 million. While the Bruins might have wanted to keep him, they wouldn’t have been able to match that offer.

DeBrusk has had a slow start to his career in Vancouver. He was scoreless through the first nine games of the season, but has since started to heat up with three goals in the last six games, bringing his season total to three goals and nine points in 15 games. He continues to be a player who can generate offense. Entering the league, he was predicted to be a 30-goal scorer. While he’s not currently on pace to achieve that this season, there’s still plenty of time left for him to go on a real hot streak as he gains more comfort and familiarity with the Canucks’ system.

The defensive side of his game has never been the strongest, and he won’t be the solution to that Vancouver’s problem on defense. But overall, as long as DeBrusk can continue to score, he will be an asset.

Matt Grzelcyk

Similar to DeBrusk, Grzelcyk had an up-and-down stint in Boston and never quite found his place in the lineup with the arrival of head coach Jim Montgomery in 2022-23. He was a healthy scratch over the last two postseasons and with the arrival of Mason Lohrei, another left-shooting defenseman, it seemed inevitable that he wouldn’t be re-signed after eight seasons.

Grzelcyk signed for one year, $2.75 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins. So far, he has featured in all 18 games for a team struggling to gain a foothold. They are currently sixth in the Metropolitan Division, although both teams behind them in the table have played fewer games so far. In the 18 games, Grzelcyk has seven assists and a minus-nine rating.

Grzelcyk has been given an expanded role in Pittsburgh compared to the one he had in Boston. He’s averaging more than two minutes of ice time a night and surprisingly — considering he’s on a team with Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang — he’s gotten some changes to quarterback on the power play. He will be someone to watch at the 2025 Trade Deadline given his contract and decent play; if the Penguins are still near the bottom of the standings, he’ll be someone they can get a decent return for.

Danton Heinen

Heinen arrived in Boston last season on a professional tryout option, and ended up signing a one-year deal. It was his second stint with the team, and he was more impactful the second time around, earning him one two-year contract with an AAV of $2.25 million with the Canucks, his hometown team.

Similar to DeBrusk, Heinen currently has three goals in 15 games and seven total points, which is a solid start for him. He primarily plays in the bottom six after getting some top six looks in Boston last season. He averages more than 14 minutes of ice time per night.

James van Riemsdyk

After one season in Boston, van Riemsdyk signed a one-year, $900,000 contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets. At 35, he is the second oldest on the team, behind only Jack Johnson (38) and over another former Bruin, Sean Kuraly (32,)

Van Riemsdyk brought a net-front presence that the Bruins had struggled to find in previous seasons. He had 38 points, nine more than he had the previous season with the Philadelphia Flyers.

As a low-risk signing, van Riemsdyk brings a veteran presence to a Blue Jackets team with some developing young talent in Adam Fantilli, Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson. So far in 2024-25, he hasn’t had the start he did in Boston last season, registering just two goals and four points in 12 games. He was recently a healthy scratch for their game against the Los Angeles Kings.

More former Bruins

Derek Forbort, who spent three years in Boston primarily as a third-pair defenseman, joined DeBrusk and Heinen in Vancouver, signing a one-year, $1.5 million deal. He has only appeared in four games so far and has missed some time due to the passing of his father.

Jesper Boqvist signed a one-year deal with the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers this summer. The 26-year-old spent time between Boston and the Providence Bruins of the American Hockey League (AHL) during his one season with the organization. So far in 2024-25, he has appeared in all 16 games for the Panthers and has three goals and five points while getting an opportunity to play on the second line with Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk.

Looking ahead

The Bruins will face several of their former players in the coming weeks. The Blue Jackets come to town on November 18th. Then the Canucks are in Boston on November 26, as are the Penguins the day after American Thanksgiving on November 29.

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Be sure to check out The hockey writersBruins coverage leading up to these games and throughout the 2024-25 season.