When the Bruins signed Morgan Geekie on the first day of free agency last summer, it appeared as though they were given a gift.

We are just now seeing that true value of that present.

Geekie, scooped u by the B’s after he was surprisingly not qualified by the Seattle Kraken after his best season (9-19-28 totals, plus-14) as an NHLer, has been a key addition for the Bruins. He’s been one of several additions who have helped to make what was considered a transition season for the B’s something more than that.

In 40 games for the B’s, he got 8-15-23 totals while averaging 15:18 of icetime, a career high. And lately it looks like he’s found a role in which he can make the biggest impact. centering a third line with wings Trent Frederic and Jakub Lauko for the last three games, all quality wins.

Geekie takes pride in his versatility. Wherever the Bruins have asked him to play – and he’s seen everything from fourth line duty to centering one of the NHL’s superstars in David Pastrnak – Geekie’s been able to make positive contributions.

But his latest line has not only improved the team’s forward depth, it has also become a handful for teams to defend. The trio made the Winnipeg Jets, the NHL’s best defensive defensive team, look like the Keystone Cops when it crashed the offensive zone and scored the first goal of Monday’s win.

The line also brings a physicality that the B’s have needed. In the 4-1 win over the Jets, Geekie doled out a game-high six hits. He also played a big part in putting the game away, taking the puck to the net late in the third period, eventually leading to Jake DeBrusk’s shorthanded insurance goal.

Not a bad night’s work.

Geekie initally caught coach Jim Montgomery’s eye early on when he was part of the Carolina Hurricanes, who drafted him in the third round in 2017.

“I thought he was really good when he got first called up in Carolina. I thought ‘there’s a guy who has a nose for the net,’” said Montgomery. “I kind of lost him in Seattle. I know he was good against us in the game in Seattle. But our pro scouts do a great job and he’s someone they were hoping would become available and he did. Great job by (GM Don Sweeney) and his staff of going to get him. Obviously, he’s done great work for us. He’s really helped us have three lines, no matter where we use him. I think he is someone who is just scratching the surface of what he can. I think he’s a guy who can be a 20-goal scorer for us.”

For someone who was deemed expendable by two organizations, Geekie possesses a lot of qualities that are valued in the game. He’s got decent size (6-3, 202 pounds). He skates well. He goes to the hard areas of the ice. And he’s got a heavy shot that haas earned him some power-play time.

Geekie hopes to make Montgomery a prophet.

“I was confident about my game, for sure,” said Geekie. “A lot of (success) is just opportunity in this league and you have to earn that. But I felt like I knew what I could do coming in and whatever role I was going to play here I was going to be happy doing it. But to contribute offensively, that’s always something I’ve liked to do. I think I think the game really well, too, so to be able to develop into that kind of player is something I’d love to do, for sure.”

The new line certainly seems like one that’s made for Geekie’s hard-driving attributes. Montgomery sees Geekie and Frederic building a chemistry much like Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle have.

“We’ve had some success on the scoresheet but I think we’ve been playing well at both ends of the rink and that’s translated for us,” said Geekie. “We have every different flavor on that line and it’s good. I think we play off each other. We bring a lot of different facets and we play a lot of different ways and we play fast. We want to build on that.”

Geekie appreciates both of his previous stops. The Canes, whom the B’s face for the first time this year on Wednesday, drafted him and gave him his first opportunity. And he felt going to Seattle helped him grow even further.

But he admitted to some mixed feelings when he learned he wasn’t going to be qualified by the Kraken.

“I had a lot of fun in Seattle and the guys were great,” said Geekie, who signed a two-year deal worth $2 million annually with the B’s. “We all came into together in the first year of the expansion team and we all kind of meshed together and grew together. And it seems like two years is not a long time, but when you’re a team coming together for the first time it moves pretty quickly. It’s always tough to have a change of scenery, especially for your family. My wife had good friends on that team, too. But for me, it’s something that’s been good so far. It’s a business at the end of the day and as unfortunate as it may be, that’s just how the dice rolls sometimes.”

And right now, it looks like the B’s have hit the jackpot with Geekie.