New addition Will Borgen willing to do anything to help the Bruins on their suddenly-crowded blue line

There’s a backlog on the Bruins backline.

Boston made a number of additions to bolster its defensive corps when it signed Connor Clifton and Jordan Harris and traded for Will Borgen on the opening day of free agency.

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Surplus bodies is a nice problem to have, especially from a competitive standpoint. However, it’s still a problem — especially when it comes to salary and roster spots.

The Bruins have 10 players expected to compete for six/seven opening night jobs (Charlie McAvoy will sit for the first six games). Nine of them are on NHL contracts: McAvoy, Hampus Lindholm, Nikita Zadorov, Borgen, Henri Jokiharju, Mason Lohrei, Clifton, Jonathan Aspirot, and Harris. In addition, Frederic Brunet is knocking on the door after a standout season in Providence.

Lohrei (one year, $3.2 million) and Jokiharju (two years, $3 million) both sat at points last season and would be susceptible to being moved. It could be mutually beneficial. The Bruins get salary cap relief (and likely future draft picks) while the players get a fresh start.

Borgen, the right-shot defenseman picked up from the Rangers for a second-round pick and a conditional third-round pick, is a sturdy, 6-foot-3-inch, 205-pounder who plays with power and physicality.

In his seven-year career with the Sabres, Kraken, and Rangers, he averaged just over 17 minutes per game. The Moorhead, Minn., native eclipsed 18 minutes per over the last two seasons in New York. He’s cracked double digits in points in each of the last four seasons.

Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said the initial plan is for Borgen to eat some of McAvoy’s penalty-killing shifts. He likely slots on the second pairing with Lindholm.

“I mean, my role, I feel like it’s always pretty much the same. I try to be competitive every night, play hard against the other team’s top players if I can, if I’m playing against them. If I’m not, I mean, play hard against whoever,” Borgen said Thursday. “I try to play a physical game and mostly on the defensive side. I mean, if I can move the puck forward to the forwards and let them do their work and every once in a while, if I can join [the rush, I will].

“But yeah, I don’t know where I’ll shake out in the lineup, but wherever it is, I’m just happy to help.”

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Sweeney envisions Borgen being able to fit into multiple pairings.

“Will’s got length,” he said. “He skates well, he competes, he closes in the D-zone.”

Borgen, who is signed through 2030 at $4.1 million per season, acknowledged the trade was a bit of surprise, but he knew after the Rangers disappointing season that changes might be afoot.

“Last season, it didn’t go the way any of us expected. So change is inevitable when your team doesn’t finish the way you want to finish,” said Borgen, who had 5-10–15 totals and a plus-3 rating in 75 game last season. “But when I first got moved there, I thought things went really well, came short of the playoffs that year. And I mean, it’s always tough not making the playoffs, but it happens.

“I have nothing bad to say about the Ranger organization. They were good to me. Made some good friends and, yeah, they were good to me there.”

He was happy he was sent to the Bruins — a team he was well acquainted with from playing against them, to the multiple connections he has in the locker room, including former teammates Morgan Geekie, Casey Mittelstadt, Mikey Eyssimont, and Lohrei.

“They all just reached out, said, ‘You’re going to love it, said the guys are great,’ ” Borgen said Thursday. “Yeah, that was kind of the gist of it. My phone was pretty busy yesterday.”

He counts Geekie, with whom he played in Seattle, among his good buddies.

“Geeks texted me right away. I’m very happy to be back with him. Geeks is one of my good buddies from the hockey world and we always make it a point to see each other when we were playing each other against after our Seattle time together,” said the 29-year-old Borgen.

“We’re very excited to be back together and he’s had nothing but good things to say about Boston and the group especially. Him and Casey both emphasized how good of a group the guys are.”

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