The Boston Bruins apparently are making it a point to re-sign their biggest-name free agent.
CSNNE.com cited a source Thursday in reporting that the Bruins are focusing on re-signing winger Jarome Iginla to a contract extension, as he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Boston reportedly is working to get that deal done before free agency begins on July 1. The Bruins are focusing so much on Iginla, in fact, that CSNNE.com reports the B’s are working on that before they get to their other free agents.
That certainly makes it sounds like re-signing Iginla is the priority right now. However, the Bruins have other free agents they’ll also have to get to at some point. The most notable are restricted free agents forward Reilly Smith and defensemen Matt Bartkowski and Torey Krug.
The salary-cap situation is a little bit dicey, too. The Bruins likely would have to sign Iginla to another incentive-laden deal to get him under the cap, especially considering his bonus money from last season hits the cap for 2014-15. One certainly could see why the Bruins would make a strong push to keep Iginla in town. He tied for the team lead with 30 goals in the regular season, and while he wasn’t great in the postseason, he wasn’t awful either.
Iginla skated alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic on the Bruins’ top line, which arguably was their best in the regular season. There was a sharp drop-off in the postseason — one of the biggest reasons the B’s were eliminated in the second round — but it sure sounds like the club is trying to give them a shot a redemption next season.
