Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Boston is set to have several core players hit the open market, giving them a lot of payroll flexibility to work with in the coming weeks.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Brandon Carlo – Carlo isn’t going to win any scoring titles but he has been a reliable stay-at-home defenseman throughout his five years in Boston and his absence was certainly felt when multiple upper-body injuries kept him out of the lineup for big stretches in the second half of the season plus the last few games of their series against the Islanders. He’s owed a $3.5MM qualifying offer next month and despite limited offensive production, they should be comfortable tendering it. However, it’s also hard to see him getting much more than that despite being arbitration-eligible unless they work out a long-term pact that buys out his two remaining RFA years plus several seasons of UFA eligibility.
F Nick Ritchie – While it wasn’t a career year from a points perspective, the 25-year-old set a new career-high in goals with 15 while surpassing the 15 minute per game mark for the first time. Consistency has long been an issue for the 2014 tenth-overall selection but Ritchie certainly took some steps in the right direction. His qualifying offer is set at $2MM while he has arbitration eligibility for the first time as well. He took enough strides this season that he should be tendered but he doesn’t have enough of a track record to seek much more than that.
F Ondrej Kase – Kase is being mentioned simply because it would be stunning to see him be tendered next month. He was limited to just three games this season due to multiple upper-body injuries and had struggled over his previous two seasons as well. That’s not worth a $2.6MM offer in this market; Boston would be wise to put use money elsewhere.
Other RFAs: F Trent Frederic, F Cameron Hughes, F Joona Koppanen, F Robert Lantosi, F Zachary Senyshyn, D Nick Wolff
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Taylor Hall – For the second straight year, the 29-year-old will be one of the more prominent players on the open market. However, there’s no doubt that his value has taken a nosedive along the way after struggling mightily in Buffalo as his plans to have a strong season and then sign with more teams showing interest didn’t go as well as planned. He facilitated a trade to Boston at the deadline and turned things around down the stretch and in the playoffs which will certainly help his cause in free agency. That is, assuming he gets there. Hall and the Bruins have openly expressed a mutual interest in getting another deal done and unless Hall’s asking price is too high, there should be a good chance of getting something in place although it will be a fair bit lower than the $8MM he made this season.
F David Krejci – Unlike Hall whose time in Boston has been limited, Krejci has been a fixture in their lineup for the past 14 years and has been their second-line center for a significant portion of that. The 35-year-old has been a steady offensive presence and showed no signs of slowing down this season, notching 44 points in 51 games. There has also been publicly stated mutual interest in getting a deal in place with Krejci saying he can’t see himself playing for a different NHL team than the Bruins. He’s also facing a dip in pay as it’s quite unlikely he’ll match the $7.25MM AAV he has had for each of the past six seasons.
G Tuukka Rask – Wouldn’t you know it, here’s another veteran who has made it clear he wants to stay in Boston and has no intention of going anywhere else. The difference is that Rask won’t be available for the first half of next season after undergoing hip surgery. It’s obvious he’ll be facing a significant cut from his $7MM AAV from the past eight years but the question is whether or not they can afford to run with a short-term partner for youngster Jeremy Swayman or whether they’ll need a full-season piece which could then take Rask out of the equation. If they do look for a full-season option, Jaroslav Halak, another Boston UFA, could be an option to return.
D Mike Reilly – Another trade deadline acquisition, Reilly played a big role after being acquired, averaging over 21 minutes per game down the stretch and in the playoffs. Not bad for someone that had barely averaged 16 minutes a night over his first five NHL seasons. The 27-year-old also had a career year offensively, collecting 27 assists in 55 games. His stock has certainly gone up from being a role player who could have been in tough to match his $1.5MM price tag to one that quietly could generate a fair amount of interest on the open market. And yes, Reilly has also publicly expressed an interest in returning.
Other UFAs: D Steven Kampfer, F Sean Kuraly, F Greg McKegg, D Kevan Miller, D Jarred Tinordi
Projected Cap Space
With so many veterans on expiring deals, Boston currently has a little over $31MM in cap room for next season and even after re-signing their restricted free agents, they’ll have plenty of space to work with. However, they also will have several spots to fill. Whether it’s re-signing the veterans that want to stick around or replacing them with similar players, GM Don Sweeney is in for a very busy summer.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
They should resign Hall, Krejci, Reilly and imo Tinordi as a 7th d-man he’s the only defenseman that’s not soft or made of glass he won’t put up any points but he’ll stick up for his teammates something no one else will do on this team (Miller does but then he’s injured right after) as for Tuukka they should bring him back but for no more then 3-4 million a yr on a 2yr deal
As RFA Carlo’s the only must sign I like Ritchie but they have plenty of that type a players waiting in the ahl
I’d love for them to go after Jones or OEL and a soiled vet for the 3rd line
Trade DeBrusk, Griz , and Wagner and hopefully they can get Seattle to take Moors’s 2.5m contract
Hall is a mistake. He’s all flash until the money drops and then he does nothing valuable. Look up Andrew Ference and his description of the Oilers locker room in Halls time. McDavid got Hall traded, and they lived together for a year. He’s poison.
I am not a Boston fan, but I feel like Hall is a KHL player.
Interesting read…
Next Ference got into a second issue, the lack of commitment of some of the younger Oilers players. “I think the most frustrating part for me as a player — I went in there straight from Boston — was that talk is cheap. I went in and Dallas Eakins is a fantastic coach. There’s another whipping boy who got raked over the coals. There’s a fantastic coach that was dealt just a pure crap hand in a team that would actually listen.
“You had a group of players that talked about how they wanted to make the playoffs, and talked about how sick they were of losing, and then by Game Three after losing 6-1, they’re straight out to the bar to three in the morning, lighting up the night life scene in Edmonton. Like, come on, give me a break. It was to the point where it was ridiculous where the lifestyle was way more important than actually playing the game and making the playoffs. Like I said, talk is cheap.
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“Even in practice, I came from a group where you’re practising against guys like (Patrice) Bergeron or (Zdeno) Chara, and you’re going at each other, like game intensity — and that is how you get better. That is how you be a playoff contender. That is how you be a champion. And you try to instil some of those values. We had some other guys who had been on the playoff teams and they had the same frustration. They’d come and practice hard and there was a group of guys there that had like, it was too cool to try hard. Derogatory terms for trying too hard in practice. That’s the culture, right.
“How do you break that? You come in and try to disrupt and so I think that over the years there have been attempts to disrupt, whether it was Eakins or I come in there, or Pronger, or whoever it was, different people come in and disrupt but I know personally it was really hard for me. You come in as an older guy but far from being one of the better players on the team. So you can be a leader with experience but I’m not a game changer. I’m like a #4 or #5 defenceman. So your voice only goes so far with people that only respect how good your toe drag is and whether or not you’re out partying. So your voice doesn’t carry much weight with people that don’t put value on those aspects I was bringing from Boston, or that Dallas was trying to instil in the team. So it was not only frustrating, but it really pissed me off because it’s was a waste of years of your NHL career and you never get those back, and you see a coach like Dallas get really so unfairly treated. Like I said, was he perfect? No. And he’d be the first to admit that. He’d rather do some of those things different. But taking the blame? What are you supposed to do with a culture like that.”
I mention culture a lot, especially regarding BUF and EDM, because it’s like rust or wood rot or cancer. Once a bad culture sets it, in grows and spreads. Attempts to toss some good culture on top of the bad culture usually fail. The bad culture has to be removed entirely first.
That maybe true but no maybe just maybe he realizes that this will be his last chance at a cup so he’ll smarten up at least for a season or 2 (they should go no more then 2yrs) and the Bruins have a great vet core they maybe able to keep him in check Oilers never really had that he did say he’s willing to sign for less to stay so maybe he really wants to change
Why would Seattle ever take Moore’s contract?
Yup. It’s the kinda honest view into a locker room that we rarely get. It speaks volumes as to how the social dynamic makes or breaks a team.
They lost Chara and Krug. Boston’s issues seem pretty easy to identify. D corps is weak relative to the rest of the team.
Also, bottom six scoring doesn’t seems as strong as years past.
Boston needs to keep the players who made up the new 2nd line. Then need to find a way to completely remake the 3rd line as well. Kuraly will get paid somewhere else and let’s face it, DeBrusk is probably a goner too.
I read this and thought, “yeah, they’ll move DeBrusk to a team looking for some size.” Then I realized that’s what Burke and Hextall want…
Marcus Pettersson for Jake DeBrusk, who says no?
Might be a good trade there. Contracts similar and can fill needs for both.
Need to keep Hall and Krejci. Most important players. Bring them back and they’re in the run for a cup in 2022
Why do the Bruins need to make a decision now on Rask? He needs labrum surgery and won’t be able to play until February at the earliest. Why not wait until he’s in playing shape to sign him then? He doesn’t want to play anywhere else anyway. Why bid against yourself?
Isn’t there a point at which they have to sign him if they want him to play next year? Beyond that, if Rask DOESN’T sign, he doesn’t come under team insurance. And never mind anything else, it’s in Rask’s interests to sign … with someone, if the Bruins don’t play ball. If the surgery goes badly, the guy’s going to be after income all the same, and someone will give it to him if not Boston.