Before the Bruins waived David Backes, they had very little salary cap space.
Now that it’s waived Backes, Boston still has very little cap space.
The Bruins on Friday made the surprising (but also somewhat unsurprising) decision to waive the veteran forward. The 35-year-old was in Year 4 of a five-year deal that carries a $6 million annual cap hit.
Assuming Backes clears waivers (which he all but certainly will do, since a team claiming him would inherit his contract), the Bruins only get $1.075 million in cap relief by sending him to Providence.
The Bruins already were tight up against the cap, so they aren’t really in a position to go and make a move to take on a bunch of money, though it seemed highly unlikely they would’ve done that in the first place.
Either way, here’s a glimpse of the Bruins’ present cap situation, via Bruins Cap Space on Twitter:
Update if Backes clears waivers tomorrow and 2020 Offseason projection assuming he is bought out. pic.twitter.com/YqXVA0LubD
— $1.3M=LTIRBruinsCapspace (@bruinscapspace) January 17, 2020
Now, when it comes to possibly making moves at the deadline, it’s important to remember that players’ salaries are pro-rated throughout the season. Because of that (and the ability to retain salaries in trades), it’s by no means impossible for the Bruins to swing deals for guys technically making more money than the Bruins have in cap space.
It might require some creativity, sure, but moves within the realm of reason are possible if Boston wants to pursue that route.
