Short on draft picks, Don Sweeney and the Bruins have once again jumped into the college ranks for some prospect pool help, this time with the signing of one of the top NCAA free agents available in Notre Dame defenseman Drew Bavaro.

Confirmed by the club Tuesday morning, Bavaro will join the Bruins on a one-year, entry-level deal with an NHL cap hit of $867,500.

That deal will begin during the 2024-25 NHL season, with the 23-year-old Bavaro set to join Providence on an amateur tryout agreement for the remainder of the 2023-24 season.

A right-shot defenseman, Bavaro is set to join the pro game after a 2023-24 campaign that included 10 goals and 20 points in 35 games for the Fighting Irish. He was Notre Dame’s highest-scoring defenseman on the goal front (four of which came on the power play) and in points, while his 10 helpers ranked third among Irish blue liners.

Bavaro also blocked 28 shots during his 35-game run for the club this past season.

During his junior year at ND, the 6-foot-3 Bavaro posted six goals and 19 points in 37 games played. Bavaro’s 19 points were the fifth-most among all Irish skaters that season, and his 41 blocks ranked third on the club.

Overall, Bavaro’s two-season run with the Fighting Irish included 16 goals and 39 points in 72 games.

And though he’s a Florida native, Bavaro does come to the Bruins with some ties to Massachusetts.

Bavaro played his high school hockey with Lawrence Academy from 2015 through 2019, and also played with the Neponset Valley River Rats (Canton, Mass.) during that stretch. And after spending one year with BCHL Wenatchee, Bavaro embarked on a two-year run with Waltham’s Bentley University before joining Notre Dame.

At Bentley, Bavaro posted 11 goals and 39 points over 52 games played.

Bavaro is Boston's fourth NCAA free agent signing over the last two years, which includes Marc McLaughlin and Brandon Bussi in 2022, and John Farinacci last summer.

B's seem to pump brakes on Pat Maroon's recovery

The Bruins knew that Pat Maroon was not at 100 percent when they acquired him from Minnesota.

Undergoing back surgery in early February, the Bruins knew they would be without Maroon for at least two additional weeks.

It’s why the late-round draft pick sent to the Wild in the trade was a conditional one, and required the 35-year-old Maroon to appear in at least one playoff game for the club. The Bruins were (and are) OK with that risk given what they view as a value-add postseason presence whenever Maroon does jump into action. But it appears that the Bruins were not OK with the recovery process the Wild had Maroon on, as the Bruins have seemingly put a stop to Maroon’s solo skating.

Speaking after Wednesday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery noted that Maroon has not started skating since coming to Boston, and called Maroon “week-to-week” as he recovers from back surgery. That update went against an update from Maroon himself, who noted that he had just started skating prior to his trade from the Wild to the Bruins.

“No timeframe, all I can give you is I’m skating a little bit,” Maroon said last Saturday.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney also noted that Maroon had ‘started to get back on the ice’ ahead of the trade.

So, unless Montgomery is speaking out of turn (and that’d be unlikely in the sense that we’ve yet to see Maroon on the ice), it appears that the Bruins have made a change of plans when it comes to Maroon’s recovery workload.

“If we’re not doing it, it’s because [Bruins manager of player rehabilitation] Scotty Waugh and the professionals we have think the best thing is to gradually bring him back onto the ice,” Montgomery said.

With 15 games to go, the Bruins do have time on their side (they have the most time off between now and the start of the playoffs given that they’ve played the most games in the league), and it’s worth noting that the Bruins immediately approached the Maroon addition as one where they simply weren’t going to rush anything.

“We’ll just let that play out, get accustomed with our medical team, and let him progress,” Sweeney said in his first press conference following the Maroon trade. “We know when he plays his best hockey.

“The fact is that he’s been part of championship teams, and the pedigree that he has, and what he brings to the table, I think was important to us on and off the ice, and we’re excited to bring Pat on board.”

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, HockeyBuzz.com or any subsidiaries. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.

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