Salary Cap Deep Dive: Boston Bruins
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2023-24 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Boston Bruins
Current Cap Hit: $83,070,834 (under the $83.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
None that are likely to be full-timers on the roster.
Signed Through 2023-24, Non-Entry-Level
F Jesper Boqvist ($775K, RFA)
F Jake DeBrusk ($4MM, UFA)
D Derek Forbort ($3MM, UFA)
F A.J. Greer ($762.5K, UFA)
D Matt Grzelcyk ($3.688MM, UFA)
F Milan Lucic ($1MM, UFA)
D Ian Mitchell ($775K, RFA)
D Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.05MM, UFA)
G Jeremy Swayman ($3.475MM, RFA)
F James van Riemsdyk ($1MM, UFA)
D Jakub Zboril ($1.138MM, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Lucic: $500K
DeBrusk’s future with Boston has been murky for a few years now. First, it was a trade request that wasn’t granted and was later rescinded. Since then, he has become an important part of their attack, notching at least 25 goals in each of the last two seasons. Now, they need to decide if he’s part of their future plans on a contract that’s likely to cost closer to $6MM or if he could be a possible part of an offer to try to get some center help. Lucic returns after a long stretch out West and is no longer the top-six forward he once was. However, he has been a serviceable bottom-six piece in a limited role and this contract fits in with the role he’s likely to provide.
Not many players saw their stock fall last season as much as van Riemsdyk. After being a top power play threat in previous years, he struggled with the man advantage last year which resulted in his lowest goal total since 2011-12. In doing so, the Flyers weren’t able to find a taker for him at the trade deadline. He’ll look to rebuild his stock in Boston and if he can have success in a top-six role, his market should be considerably stronger next summer. Boqvist was non-tendered by New Jersey this summer to avoid arbitration. He’s a capable fourth-line checker and this should prove to be a team-friendly deal before too long. Arbitration rights will be in play next summer as well. Greer held down a regular spot on the roster last season, getting into a career-best 61 games. Another year like that should increase his chances of another one-way pact but he’s the type of player that teams will be looking to sign for the minimum.
With Boston’s cap situation, Grzelcyk’s future has come into some question as well. He was basically relegated to an even strength-only player last season and while that type of player still has some value – he’s still a capable offensive player – it’s one that’s hard to afford given their current roster structure. Next summer, if he has another season like this one, he might be looking at a small dip in pay but should still land a multi-year deal. Forbort is another speculative cap casualty if GM Don Sweeney makes a move to create some flexibility or needs to match money in a trade. More of a prototypical third-pairing/penalty killing piece at this point of his career, his market value is probably closer to $2MM unless he can stake a regular claim to a top-four spot this season.
Shattenkirk was one of many bargain signings by Boston this summer, coming over after three years in Anaheim. He’s starting to slow down but is still capable of logging upwards of 20 minutes per game and certainly left money on the table to join the Bruins. A good season with them could push him back over the $3MM mark next summer if he wants to maximize his next contract. Zboril has seen very little NHL action over four years due to injuries, demotions, and being scratched at times; his career GP total is less than a full year. When he played last season, he was sparingly used. If that’s the role he has again, his next offers are going to be closer to the minimum salary. That’s where Mitchell finds himself after taking less than his qualifying offer, presumably in the hopes of trying to secure a spot on Boston’s roster. Once viewed as a key prospect in Chicago, his stock has dipped but he has had enough success in the minors to warrant another look.
Swayman’s contract was one of the more interesting ones signed this summer. He had a very strong year, posting a 2.27 GAA along with a .920 SV% but in just 37 games. For his career, he has just 87 career appearances which isn’t a large sample size to work off of. A multi-year deal would likely have cost upwards of $4.5MM per year, a sum they simply couldn’t have afforded with their current roster. Instead, the sides went to arbitration to get this deal. Another year somewhat similar to this one could push his single-year value into the $4.5MM range – even as a platoon goalie – while a longer-term agreement could push closer to the $6MM mark.
Signed Through 2024-25
F Patrick Brown ($800K, UFA)
F Trent Frederic ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Morgan Geekie ($2MM, RFA)
F Brad Marchand ($6.125MM, UFA)
G Linus Ullmark ($5MM, UFA)
Marchand’s production isn’t where it was at his peak anymore but he was still close to a point per game last season. Without his long-time linemate Patrice Bergeron, it will be interesting to see how that affects his output but Marchand should still provide positive value on the final two years of his deal. He’ll be 37 when his next contract begins and it wouldn’t be surprising if he takes another team-friendly pact again. Frederic took a step forward last season, providing Boston with some good secondary production despite having a limited role, allowing him to more than double the AAV of his previous contract. He’ll need to maintain that at a minimum while moving up the lineup to push up his price tag again in two years.
Geekie came over after being somewhat surprisingly non-tendered by Seattle. He’ll have a chance to play a bit higher in the lineup with Boston’s turnover down the middle and if he can hold down the third-line center role, this should be a good pickup for them. Notably, he’ll still have another year of control through arbitration if things go well. Brown came over in free agency after splitting last season between Philadelphia and Ottawa. He’s a serviceable checker on the fourth line without providing much offense so future deals for him should come in close to the minimum as well.
Ullmark had an incredible season last year. He blew past his full-season career bests in GAA (2.45) and SV% (.917) by putting up 1.89 and .938 respectively in those categories. Wins and losses certainly aren’t everything for a goalie but he had 40 victories in 48 starts, a win rate that is quite difficult to come by. That made him a well-deserving recipient of the Vezina Trophy while making mid-tier starter money. Few are expecting a performance like this in 2023-24 but even if he goes back to his career averages, they’ll get good value here.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Charlie Coyle ($5.25MM, UFA)
Coyle has been a secondary producer for the majority of his career, even coming back to his time with Minnesota. That made this contract a bit on the high side when it was signed back in 2019. However, he’s coming off back-to-back years with more than 40 points and has moved back to primarily playing at center after splitting the previous few seasons between center and the wing. The full-time position switch helps the value. So do the departures of Bergeron and David Krejci as it will push Coyle into a more prominent role offensively. As long as that results in an uptick in production – a reasonable expectation – the return on the second half of this contract should be a bit better than the first half.
Signed Through 2026-27 Or Longer
D Brandon Carlo ($4.1MM through 2026-27)
D Hampus Lindholm ($6.5MM through 2029-30)
D Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
F David Pastrnak ($11.25MM through 2030-31)
F Pavel Zacha ($4.75MM through 2026-27)
Pastrnak had a dominant performance last season, scoring 61 goals while averaging at least a point per game for the fifth straight season. That put him in the driver’s seat when it came to negotiating an early extension in-season, one that immediately became the richest deal in franchise history. It’s hard for a player making that much to live up to the contract but he’ll be the go-to player in Boston for a long time. Zacha’s contract is on the pricey side based on his career numbers but he had a breakout performance in 2022-23, notching 57 points. Like Coyle, he’ll be asked to play a bigger role this year and if there’s an uptick offensively as a result, this will become a team-friendly deal.
McAvoy has emerged as a legitimate top-pairing defenseman who is above-average at the offensive end. Those players get paid quickly and he was no exception as he now sits tied for fourth in the NHL in AAV among blueliners. That’s a hard contract to live up to but the Bruins are banking that he has another gear to get to yet. Lindholm found a gear offensively that he never could reach with Anaheim, becoming an ideal top-pairing fit in the process. There’s some concern about how the deal might age as he’ll be out of his prime by then but that’s a problem for down the road, not now. Carlo is a capable defensive defenseman but his ideal role is a fourth or fifth defender who can kill penalties. With minimal offensive contributions, it’s a deal that’s above market value at this point.
Buyouts
D Mike Reilly ($333K in 2023-24, $1.33MM in 2024-25)
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Still To Sign
None
Best Value: Shattenkirk
Worst Value: Carlo
Looking Ahead
The bonus carryover penalties from Bergeron and Krejci’s deals cut into Boston’s cap space by $4.5MM. They’re unlikely to afford a full-sized roster to start the season but if they want to get creative, they might be able to waive someone like Forbort and shuffle him back and forth, freeing up a pro-rated $1.15MM for each day he’s off the roster. That could give them some extra space to hedge against injuries but if they want to add to their group this season, it’s going to be a money-in, money-out situation barring LTIR for someone coming into play.
Fortunately for the Bruins, the cap challenges could be short-lived. With over $20MM coming off the books next summer plus the carryover charge being cleared (aside from potentially Lucic’s half-million), Sweeney should have ample flexibility to re-sign his core pieces and then try to add one either via trade or in free agency. Meanwhile, at the moment, there are just six players signed for the 2025-26 campaign, giving Boston a relatively clean canvas to work with for the future.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Prospect Injury Notes: Dyck, Mazur, Lombardi
NHL.com’s Mark Divver shared that Boston Bruins goaltending prospect Reid Dyck has suffered a hamstring injury that will keep him out for at least four weeks. As a result, Dyck’s participation at the Bruins development camp will be limited to off-ice. The same is true for fellow goalie invite Derek Mullahy. This leaves Philip Svedeback and Hlib Artsatbanov as the on-ice duo for camp.
The Bruins drafted Dyck as an overage prospect in the sixth round of the 2022 NHL Draft. Boston has only taken three other goalies in the draft since 2013: Daniel Vladar, Jeremy Swayman, and Svedback. Dyck has spent the last three seasons with the Swift Current Broncos of the WHL, where he’s posted a career .884 save percentage through 71 games. The 19-year-old goaltender will return for a final year of WHL service in the upcoming season, before fighting for a spot in the Bruins organization next summer.
Other injury updates:
- The Detroit Red Wings announced a pair of updates, sharing first that Carter Mazur isn’t currently healthy. The 21-year-old was injured in the team’s first game in the rookie tournament and was attended to by the team’s medical staff. The injury has been acknowledged as a lower-body injury but there are no further updates as to what the injury is or a timetable for Mazur’s return. Detroit also shared that prospect Amadeus Lombardi‘s absence was due to personal reasons and the player has returned to rookie camp. The Wings took Mazur in the third round of the 2021 Draft and Lombardi in the fourth round of 2022.
Nick Holden Retires, Joins Golden Knights Front Office
Longtime NHL defenseman Nick Holden is retiring after a 12-season career and will immediately join the Vegas Golden Knights’ player development staff, according to a team release. His specialty will be working with the team’s group of young defensemen.
Initially eligible for the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, Holden went undrafted and didn’t make it to an NHL organization until the Columbus Blue Jackets signed him to an entry-level contract in 2008 after completing his junior career with the WHL’s Chilliwack Bruins (who have since relocated to Victoria to become the Royals). He would remain in the Blue Jackets organization until 2013 but spent most of it in the AHL, playing just seven NHL contests without recording a point. An unrestricted free agent in 2013, he signed a two-year, $1.2MM contract with the Colorado Avalanche, which jumpstarted his career. Finally playing his rookie campaign as a 26-year-old in the 2013-14 season, Holden recorded 25 points in 54 games for the Avs while averaging nearly 19 minutes per game.
He would settle into a top-four role during his peak, averaging over 20 minutes per game from 2014 to 2019. His career-best season came as a member of the New York Rangers in 2016-17, posting 11 goals and 23 assists for 34 points in 80 games and a +13 rating. With the Rangers struggling the following season, however, they dealt him to the Boston Bruins at the 2018 trade deadline, where he played a depth role down the stretch. That led him to sign with the Golden Knights for their second season, and he gave them solid play over the course of three seasons from 2018-19 to 2020-21. After slipping down the depth chart and playing just 17 regular-season games in 2020-21, however, they dealt him to the Ottawa Senators in a swap for scoring winger Evgenii Dadonov.
Holden spent the final two seasons of his career in a Sens jersey, recording 35 points in 141 games while averaging 18:24 across the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. His final NHL appearance came in an overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres on April 13 of this year, in which he recorded a +1 rating, four shots on goal, 23:13 of ice time, and one block.
After turning 36 in May, Holden steps away from the playing side of the game with 654 career appearances. During his time with the Avalanche, Golden Knights, Blue Jackets, Rangers, Senators, and Bruins, Holden amassed 52 goals, 126 assists, 178 points, and a +16 rating.
“Nick was widely respected by management, teammates, and coaches during his time with the Golden Knights as a player,” Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said. “He fills an important role with our player development and will work not only with our drafted prospects but also with our young pros with the Henderson Silver Knights.”
We at Pro Hockey Rumors congratulate Holden on a respectable career, and we wish him the best as he moves into the next chapter of his career in the sport.
Brad Marchand Comments On Potentially Being Named Captain
- Brad Marchand and the Boston Bruins are entering unfamiliar territory as they begin a season without Patrice Bergeron. Marchand spoke extensively about what Bergeron’s absence means for the team. NHL.com’s Eric Russo says that the Bruins winger will need to take on a larger portion of the leadership load. But when asked about the likelihood that he could take on the next captaincy, Marchand said that he’s not thinking about it much and that, regardless of the next captain, the Bruins will need to collectively lift each other up to help match Bergeron’s impact.
[SOURCE LINK]
Boston Bruins Reportedly Showing Interest In Shane Pinto
Jimmy Murphy of Boston Hockey Now has shared that the Boston Bruins are expected to be interested in Ottawa Senators youngster Shane Pinto. The 22-year-old’s contract situation is becoming a bit of a saga, with a recent report claiming that the Senators and Pinto were still far apart on a new deal.
But the rumored price for Pinto will be high, with Ottawa looking for a high-end prospect close to breaking the NHL roster. Murphy shares that options from Boston would likely be Fabian Lysell or John Beecher. Both players appeared with the AHL’s Providence Bruins last year, with Lysell scoring 37 points in 54 games and Beecher tallying 23 points in 61 games. Acquiring high-end prospects helps Ottawa bolster their roster while not taking on too much additional cap hit, which Murphy’s source says is a priority for the club.
Boston Bruins Sign Danton Heinen To PTO
In a press release from the team, the Boston Bruins have announced they have signed forward Danton Heinen to a professional tryout during training camp. In his career, Heinen has previously played over 200 games for the Bruins, being drafted in the fourth round by the team back in the 2014 NHL Draft.
After spending his NCAA career at the University of Denver, Heinen spent two years with the Providence Bruins before making the full-time jump to the NHL. Getting off to an incredible start in his first full season with the Bruins in 2017-18, Heinen would score 16 goals and 31 assists in 77 games, becoming one of the better secondary scorers in the lineup.
Unfortunately for both he and the team, Heinen would fail to reach those scoring heights again, and the team finally dealt him to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for forward Nick Ritchie back in the 2019-20 season. Needless to say, his time in Anaheim became a complete failure, only scoring 10 goals and eight assists in 52 total games with the club.
After his time with the Ducks came to a close, Heinen would sign back-to-back one-year deals with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and he did see his play mildly improve. In his first season with Pittsburgh, Heinen earned the best goal-scoring output of his career up to this point, scoring 18 goals and 15 assists in 76 games. Last year, seeing his average ice time cut by almost two minutes, he would only put up eight goals and 14 assists in 65 games played.
Even though the team did capture the President’s Trophy last season after the greatest regular season in league history, after the offseason they had this year, the Bruins could certainly stand to gain some more forward depth. There will be no expectation that Heinen will become the secondary scorer he used to be in Boston, but he should be able to add an offensive boost to the team’s bottom-six in the upcoming season.
Linus Ullmark Received Trade Buzz
- Ty Anderson, a reporter for Boston radio show 98.5 The Sports Hub, shared that one team approached the Bruins with a, “fair, market value return” for reigning Vezina Trophy-winner Linus Ullmark. Ullmark posted a league-best save percentage (.938) and goals-against-average (1.89) last season. He followed it up with a .896 save percentage and 3.33 goals-against-average while appearing in six of Boston’s seven postseason games. And while he didn’t walk out of the postseason with any hardware, he confidently won the Vezina, receiving 22 votes to win it where no one else received more than three. Ullmark is signed to a $5MM cap hit through the next two seasons.
[SOURCE LINK]
Examining A Pivotal Offseason For The Boston Bruins
Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub wrote a piece today going over his thoughts on the offseason that was for the Boston Bruins. Anderson writes that while the offseason losses were a challenge for the team, he believes the club can still contend for a division title, and at the very least make the playoffs in the Atlantic Division.
While Anderson offers up many reasons for optimism, he does believe that if the Bruins were to falter, they should look to move on from the eight unrestricted free agents that the Bruins will be dressing on opening night and try to acquire assets for them rather than throwing assets after band-aid solutions. Boston does have an extensive list of unrestricted free agents at the end of this year including Jake DeBrusk, James van Riemsdyk, Milan Lucic, A.J. Greer, Matt Grzelcyk, Derek Forbort, Kevin Shattenkirk, and Jakub Zboril. Moving on from these players would help facilitate a re-tool should the Bruins opt to go down that path.
There is a belief with Anderson and others that the Bruins could be buyers in the summer of 2024 when the cap goes up and the bonuses come off Boston’s cap. An added bonus to selling at the deadline would be that any assets acquired at the deadline could help the team make moves next summer when they have cap space to play with. Now, while it seems silly to be looking at trade deadline moves when the season hasn’t even started, it is an interesting idea for the Bruins for the reasons mentioned above.
One final note, and this could be a big one, is that Boston’s first-round pick this season was dealt in the Tyler Bertuzzi trade. The pick is top-10 protected and if Boston were to fall down the standings, they could grab a top-10 pick this year in a re-tooling year and give Detroit their 2025 pick when they presumably have re-stocked the NHL roster. The risk there of course is that they falter again in 2025 and hand the Red Wings a top-10 pick, but that seems unlikely given that the team will still have some solid pieces in place and possibly some reinforcements to join them.
Bruins Scout Danielle Marmer Named GM Of PWHL Boston
- Boston Bruins player development scout Danielle Marmer has been announced as the general manager of the new Boston franchise in the Professional Women’s Hockey League, set to begin play in January. The 2022-23 season was Marmer’s first in an NHL role, previously serving as the director of hockey operations for Quinnipiac University’s women’s program for three seasons.
Jake Debrusk Wants To Stay With Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins winger Jake DeBrusk reportedly wants to stay with the team beyond this season as he is set to become a free agent on July 1st of next year. NHL.com Staff Writer Derek Van Diest writes that the 26-year-old told reporters at the Perry Pearn 3 vs. 3 Hockey Camp that he is hoping to stay with the team that he grew up with.
It’s a departure from how the former first-round pick felt about his future just a short time ago. DeBrusk requested a trade from the Bruins in November of 2021 after he was benched by former Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. He eventually had a change of heart and rescinded his request in 2022. Through all the ups and downs Bruins management supported DeBrusk, as did his teammates.
Last year DeBrusk rewarded the team’s support with the best season of his NHL career. He set career highs with 27 goals and 23 assists in 64 games while posting a +26. It was night and day with his 2020-21 season where he posted career lows with just five goals and nine assists in 41 games.
The Bruins have seen a lot of players depart from the team that won an NHL record 65 games last season. Gone are Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov, and while most teams would struggle to overcome those kinds of losses, the Bruins should be able to remain competitive.
Part of remaining competitive will be to extend their upcoming free agents starting with DeBrusk. The Edmonton, Alberta native has made it clear he wants to stay, but what will his extension look like? A lot of comparisons to Brandon Hagel have been thrown around since he signed his new deal last week. However, Hagel is almost two years younger and put up 30 goals and 34 assists this past season in 81 games. On the flip side, DeBrusk has a longer track record of success and is set to hit unrestricted free agency.
While the players aren’t a mirror image of one another, Hagel’s contract is a pretty good comparison for the Bruins and DeBrusk to utilize as a framework for an extension that both sides appear eager to sign.