Boston Bruins rookie center Matthew Poitras will miss the rest of the regular season after having surgery on his right shoulder, the team announced Wednesday.
The 19-year-old, who had five goals and 15 points in 33 games, underwent an open stabilization procedure and is expected to take approximately five months to recover, meaning Poitras should be ready for training camp.
"Matt has been an important part of our team's success thus far, and he will be missed," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said in a statement. "Our medical staff made the recommendation for Matt to proceed with the surgery rather than continue playing with an unstable shoulder and risking further damage. Everyone supported the decision as to do what was best for him at this time. Matt is just starting his Bruins career and is a key part of our future."
Poitras' health had been in question since he returned from representing Canada at the IIHF U-20 World Junior Championships between late December and early January. Poitras finished with two goals and four points in five games with Canada failing to medal at the WJC for the first time since 2019 after winning gold in three of the previous four tournaments.
He played in six of the Bruins' 12 games in January and logged less than nine minutes of ice time in three of those contests. He had two points in those six games, both coming on a pair of assists in the Bruins' 7-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 16.
A second-round pick in 2022, Poitras made the Bruins' roster out of camp this season and had an immediate impact, becoming one of the contributors who helped them win six straight games en route to a 14-1-3 start.
Poitras scored five goals and had 11 points through the first two months of the season. That led to him averaging more than 14 minutes per game while also being used in a top-six role at times for a team that entered the season with questions about how it would fill the voids left by the retired Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.
Losing Poitras means the Bruins (31-10-9) will continue to rely upon Charlie Coyle, Morgan Geekie and Pavel Zacha to anchor their top three lines. The club entering Wednesday atop the Atlantic Division and two points behind the Vancouver Canucks for the most points in the NHL.