- Bruins winger Nick Foligno told Aaron Portzline of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has fully recovered from the back injury that limited him to just four of Toronto’s seven playoff games and that he’ll be ready for training camp in September. Boston signed the 33-year-old winger to a two-year, $7.8MM deal on the opening day of free agency and informed Foligno that they may use him on his off-wing with Brad Marchand and Taylor Hall serving as the top two left wingers on the depth chart.
Bruins Rumors
David Krejci Returning To Czech Republic
August 2: HC Olomouc of the Czech Extraliga announced that they’ve signed Krejci to a one-year contract. Krejci spent time in that program 20 years ago, playing in 26 games in 2000-01 with their Under-18 squad.
July 30: The highest name remaining on our Top 50 UFA list was David Krejci, who was eerily quiet through the first two days of free agency. Now we know why. The veteran forward has announced that he will not be returning to the Boston Bruins or signing with any other NHL team, explaining that he will return to play in the Czech Republic.
Though he doesn’t call it retirement, Krejci’s NHL career is over for the time being:
Since the end of the season, as I have thought about my future, it has become clear that I need to make a difficult decision for my family and I. At this point in my career and life I need to return to the Czech Republic and play in front of my family who sacrificed so much to help me achieve my NHL dreams. I want to play in front of my parents, brother and friends. I want my children to live where I grew up, spend time with so many Czech family members who love them and create lifelong memories.
It seemed odd when the Bruins decided to fill so many spots at the start of free agency, signing Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, Derek Forbort, Linus Ullmark and Tomas Nosek, while also committing money to re-signing Taylor Hall and Mike Reilly. Now it’s clear that there was never a need to save roster or cap space for Krejci after all.
The 35-year-old center has been one of the most consistent players in the NHL over his 15-year career, recording 730 points in 962 games. Every single one of those contests was completed while wearing the spoked B of the Bruins, most of them without stable linemates. For what has seemed like his entire career, the Bruins had been searching for a true partner to Krejci on the second line, something they had appeared to have finally found in Hall, though it will turn out to be too late. This decision now opens up more questions about how coach Bruce Cassidy will deploy his group, and who will anchor that second spot behind captain Patrice Bergeron.
Perhaps one of the most underrated players of his era, Krejci has been a huge reason for the Bruins’ success. In the 2011 Stanley Cup championship, it was a 24-year-old Krejci, not Bergeron, who led the entire playoffs in scoring with 12 goals and 23 points. Two years later when the Bruins would make it back to the Finals, it was again Krejci who led the league with 26 postseason points. Overall, should he not return to the NHL, he’ll finish with 124 points in 156 career playoff games, including eight game-winning goals.
With Foligno and Haula joining the Bruins and Charlie Coyle still in the mix, the team will have options at the center ice position. But it’s hard to imagine any of them filling the role that Krejci did, even up to this season. In 51 games, he may have scored just eight goals, but still managed to rack up 44 points.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Ondrej Kase
High ceiling, low floor. That’s what comes with skilled forward Ondrej Kase. When healthy, Kase’s talent is apparent. The 25-year-old winger has a 20-goal season on his resume and has scored at nearly a half-point per-game pace in his young career. The problem is that Kase has only played in 207 games through five NHL seasons, averaging just a half-season’s worth of games per year due to injury. The Boston Bruins learned the hard way that Kase cannot be relied upon, as he played in just nine regular season games total with the team after coming over from the Anaheim Ducks at the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline. This past year, he missed all but three games due to a head injury in the second game of the season and left his return game early, unable to handle getting checked.
Yet, the Bruins still nearly extended him a $2.6MM qualifying offer this summer. Bruins GM Don Sweeney had planned on retaining the dynamic, but fragile forward but changed course. The fact that Kase even remained in consideration for a new deal at that price point speaks to the upside that he brings if he can get healthy and stay healthy.
The Toronto Maple Leafs appear willing to take that chance. The team has announced a one-year, $1.25MM with Kase. While the term mitigates some risk of Kase being unable to return to form following a year missed almost entirely due to concussion symptoms, the Maple Leafs still had to commit over $1MM in order to sign Kase. That signing puts Toronto right up against the salary cap with their projected 23-man roster; so much so in fact that if Kase is on regular injured reserve, the Leafs will not have the room to even recall a minimum salary player to replace him. The trade-off of course is that a healthy Kase will be an excellent addition to their forward corps as a player who can skate with their stars and produce points. It is the ultimate boom-or-bust bargain for Toronto.
Boston Bruins Sign Four To Minimum Deals
The Boston Bruins aren’t slowing down. The busiest team on this first day of free agency have added four more signings to the list to help fill out their AHL ranks. Goaltender Troy Grosenick, defenseman Tyler Lewington, and forward Steven Fogarty have each signed one-year, two-way contracts worth the minimum $750K NHL salary. Forward Samuel Asselin, who spent the past two seasons on an AHL deal with the Providence Bruins, has been rewarded with a two-year entry-level contract, also with a $750K AAV.
Grosenick, 31, will join a goaltending depth chart that added Linus Ullmark and lost Daniel Vladar today, likely making him the third option in the early part of the season, until Tuukka Rask conceivably returns. He’ll require waivers to go to the minor leagues, but with a handful of NHL appearances–including two in 2020-21–he’d be in line for any starts that come about because of injury.
Lewington and Fogarty are in a similar boat, signed for the AHL but with enough experience to chip in if Boston needs some injury insurance. The 26-year-old Lewington has played ten games in the NHL, recording three points and 33 penalty minutes. The 28-year-old Fogarty is a little more experienced with 28 NHL appareances, including one playoff game for the New York Rangers in 2020. The 6’3″ forward scores at a strong rate in the AHL, but has just three points at the highest level.
Asselin meanwhile is just 23 and coming off his first full season with Providence, after splitting time in the AHL and ECHL during 2019-20. The undrafted QMJHL free agent signing scored 16 points in 25 AHL games this season, showing that the offensive production that appeared at previous levels might travel with him to the high minors. He’ll have to prove it again this season, but an entry-level contract is a nice reward for the hard work he’s put in to this point.
Calgary Flames Acquire Dan Vladar
After the Boston Bruins signed Linus Ullmark to a long-term deal, it was clear that one of the team’s young duo of Jeremy Swayman and Dan Vladar would have to go. It didn’t take long to make a decision, as Vladar is on his way to the Calgary Flames in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick.
The 23-year-old Vladar made his regular season debut this year, playing in five games for the Bruins. He posted an .886 save percentage during those appearances, but still looked like he might have an NHL future with the Bruins before long. Tuukka Rask is getting older and was facing a long rehab from hip surgery, while veteran backup Jaroslav Halak was moving on from the team. The third-round pick had plenty of AHL success to show for his time in the organization, including a league-best .936 save percentage in 2019-20.
The moment that Boston signed Ullmark though, everything changed, and Vladar will now have to prove his worth all over again to a new team. Still, that may be a blessing for the young netminder, who moves into a Calgary depth chart as the potential NHL backup. The team has prospect Dustin Wolf that looks to have a bright future, but he’s at least a few years away from pushing for NHL playing time. Vladar can instead slide in right behind starter Jacob Markstrom and attempt to establish himself as a backup at the highest level.
Landing a third-round pick for a promising young goaltender might not be ideal, but at least the Bruins got something of value back from a tight situation. Vladar is not waiver-exempt any longer, meaning they potentially could have lost him for nothing at the start of the season. While they won’t get back all the hours and money spent developing him, at least they recoup the pick they used to select him in 2015.
Boston Bruins To Sign Linus Ullmark
With Tuukka Rask out for a good chunk of next season after major surgery and Jaroslav Halak now in Vancouver, the Boston Bruins have brought in a new goaltender. Linus Ullmark has signed with the Bruins, leaving the Buffalo Sabres after a long negotiation that stretched all the way into free agency. Ullmark’s new deal with Boston will be a four-year contract worth a total of $20MM.
Beyond the financial increase, which is significant, Ullmark gets a huge competitive upgrade in terms of the team that will be in front of him on a nightly basis. Through the first six seasons of his NHL career, he had been backstopping a Buffalo team that never once finished above .500 or made the playoffs. Despite all that losing for the Sabres in general, Ullmark’s results have actually been relatively strong, posting a 50-47-13 record in his 117 appearances. This season he was responsible for nine of the team’s 15 wins, despite only appearing in 20 games due to injury. He had a .917 during those limited outings, slightly higher than his career .912.
The gamble here by the Bruins is that behind a better structure, Ullmark will not only turn into a viable starting goaltender, but an elite one. The team has committed to a $5MM cap hit through 2024-25, actually tied the 12th-highest among goaltenders in league-wide. Robin Lehner, for instance, signed a five-year $25MM deal less than a year ago coming off two seasons where he finished in the top-6 of Vezina Trophy voting.
Lehner is actually an interesting comparison for Ullmark, because he was the Sabres goaltender that once blocked Ullmark’s path to the NHL. After posting a .916 over 133 games with Buffalo, Lehner immediately broke out after going to a stronger defensive team. He had a .930 in 2018-19 with the New York Islanders, winning the Jennings Trophy and finishing as a Vezina finalist. The numbers between the two during their time in Buffalo are eerily similar, so it makes sense that the Bruins would be hoping for a similar transformation.
Still, Lehner left Buffalo (under admittedly different circumstances) and received just one year and $1.5MM on the open market, essentially having to prove himself all over again with the Islanders. Committing this much money to Ullmark already is certainly a risk for the Bruins. It also begs the question of what will happen when Tuukka Rask is healthy enough to play again, as the assumption was that he would sign with Boston after rehabbing his hip injury. With Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman in place, the team should have enough goaltending to compete. If either one falters, the franchise icon could join the team midseason and help, but if they don’t, it’s unclear where Rask’s future lies.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Nick Foligno Signs With Boston Bruins
The Athletic’s Michael Russo reports that forward Nick Foligno will sign with the Boston Bruins, turning down a chance to play with his brother Marcus Foligno in Minnesota as was expected. The Ottawa Sun’s Bruce Garrioch is reporting that the deal is two years in length. Unofficially, the salary is believed to be $3.8MM.
In speaking with the media, both Foligno and Boston GM Don Sweeney acknowledged that they do not know exactly where Foligno will play in Boston. This seems to be more a case of a player and team with mutual interest and less of the team actually filling a need. Foligno stated that he has always admired the Bruins and a call from captain Patrice Bergeron sealed the deal. Foligno also has ties to the city as his daughter received life-saving surgery at the famed Boston Children’s Hospital.
So what role will Foligno have? With Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek also joining the fold today and decision still yet to be made by David Krejci, as well as rumors continuing to swirl around Jake DeBrusk, it is unclear exactly how the Bruins will look up front by opening night. However, they were missing a snarl in the corners and a strong net front presence at times this past season and Foligno can provide plenty of both. His positional versatility and ample experience also allows him to line up at any position and move up and down the lineup all while providing value. Foligno is one of those do-it-all players and Boston will have no trouble finding a use for him as they look to remain a top contender.
Boston Bruins Sign Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek
The Boston Bruins have signed Erik Haula to a two-year contract according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who reports that the deal will carry an average annual value of $2.375MM. The team has also signed Tomas Nosek to a two-year deal according to Darren Dreger of TSN. Nosek’s deal will carry an AAV of $1.75MM.
Haula, 30, seemed like a good bet to return to the Nashville Predators after the team lost Calle Jarnkrok in the expansion draft. Instead, while the Predators did retain Mikael Granlund, they lost Haula to the Bruins where he can bring some scoring punch to the bottom-six. For just $2.375MM, a slight raise on what he earned last season, Haula doesn’t even need to approach his career-highs of 29 goals and 55 points to be an effective player for Boston. If he can be solid defensively and sit right around that 30-40 point range, the team will be that much better for it.
Interestingly enough, Nosek was teammates with Haula when he set those career-highs with the Vegas Golden Knights. Both selected in the expansion draft, it was in Vegas that Nosek became a full-time NHL player, suiting up 240 times over the past four seasons. Even in limited minutes, he adds a little bit of offense, and in 2020-21 he was on a scoring pace that would have shattered his previous numbers if it were a full season. 18 points in 38 games may not sound like much, but when it comes with positional flexibility, penalty-killing prowess and a 6’3″ frame, it equals a pretty valuable bottom-six option.
How the Bruins lines shake out with all the newcomers—the team also signed Nick Foligno—isn’t clear, but there’s certainly a lot of NHL depth to work with. The team has 14 forwards already on one-way contracts with no one earning more than Patrice Bergeron’s $6.875MM.
Derek Forbort Signs With Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins have signed Derek Forbort to a three-year contract, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The deal is expected to carry an average annual value of $3MM. The veteran defenseman completes a new-look left side of the blue line that plagued the team last season.
The Boston Bruins were disappointed to lose Jeremy Lauzon in the Expansion Draft, but have added the player most similar in ability, but with more size and experience, albeit five years older. The 29-year-old Forbort addresses the Bruins need for physicality and penalty kill ability, one that was introduced before this past season with the departure of Zdeno Chara and now further emphasized by the loss of Lauzon. The 6’4″, 220-lb. defender plays a heavy, shutdown game. Forbort is also an elite shot-blocker and capable of moving the puck and contributing modest offense.
While Forbort may seem like a typical bottom pair, stay-at-home defenseman, that hasn’t generally been the case. Forbort has played over 20 minutes per game in four of his five NHL seasons and could be looked upon for an even greater role in Boston. With Matt Grzelcyk best-suited back on the second pair with Brandon Carlo and re-signed deadline addition Mike Reilly never playing on the top pair down the stretch or in the postseason, it would seem that Charlie McAvoy still needs a running mate. Forbort could wind up filling that role, providing the defensive security that could allow McAvoy to become more active offensively. Look for Forbort and Carlo to also form a dominant duo on the team’s top penalty kill unit.
Bruins Agree To Terms With Mike Reilly
The Bruins added Mike Reilly at the trade deadline to try to shore up their back end and evidently, they liked what they saw from him. Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic reports (Twitter link) that the defenseman has agreed to a three-year contract with a $3MM AAV.
The 28-year-old has bounced around in the early going of his career, spending his first few years with Minnesota, Montreal, and Ottawa. However, after having a limited role for most of that time, everything seemed to click for Reilly last season. He picked up 19 assists in 40 games with the Sens which bolstered his trade market and Ottawa was able to flip him to Boston at the deadline for a third-rounder, a two-round upgrade on the pick they sent to the Canadiens to acquire him the year before.
With the Bruins, Reilly was asked to take on a bigger role than he was accustomed to with Boston’s back end being banged up. He responded quite well, picking up eight more assists in 15 games while logging over 21 minutes a night. That continued in the playoffs as he chipped in with four assists in 11 postseason contests while again averaging more than 21 minutes per game.
That had Reilly well-positioned for a strong market in free agency but instead, he’ll stick around with the Bruins, doubling his previous contract in the process. Meanwhile, Boston now has at least one more veteran in place on the left side of their defense corps but it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Don Sweeney try to add another one over the coming days to help make up for last summer’s departures of Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara.