The award Wheeler receives will have an impact on what other moves Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli has to make to settle his club's salary cap issues, but beyond those potential maneuverings, there is still one other rather pressing bit of business the Bruins must complete before the start of camp.
Boston still needs to come to terms with Tyler Seguin. With the rookie salary cap in place, there is little room for haggling or incentive for either side to cause any friction with a hard-line stance. So while Seguin still waits for a deal to be finalized three weeks after top pick Taylor Hall signed with Edmonton, there is no reason for concern at this point as there should be no issues in getting the second overall selection in this year's draft into the fold.
After Hall signed with Edmonton back on July 5, Seguin was asked about his own contract status the following day when the Bruins opened their development camp in Wilmington.
"I'm not expecting anything," said Seguin. "I saw Hall got signed [the previous day], but we're in two different positions. He's in Edmonton and I am in Boston here, where they have almost already a Stanley Cup contending team and Edmonton is kind of rebuilding. So I have no expectations. I figure I could get signed soon or I could get signed in two years. Until then, I'm just coming in here trying to prove a point and earn a spot."
The Bruins aren't going to wait two years or even another two months to sign their prize prospect. Seguin will be given every opportunity to win a spot on the NHL roster in camp, and both the Bruins and Seguin himself fully expect him to be an integral part of the Bruins roster from Day 1 of the 2010-11 season.
But the situations in Boston and Edmonton are different, and in other ways beyond Boston's status as a potential Cup contender. Unlike Edmonton, Boston has precious little salary cap space remaining, and that fact is likely the main reason the club has not hammered out a deal with Seguin yet.
The lines of communication have remained open between the two sides while the Bruins addressed other contract situations. Back on July 15, Chiarelli, speaking after signing Gregory Campbell, Adam McQuaid, Andrew Bodnarchuk and Jeff LoVecchio to new deals, stated that he would get to work on a deal with Seguin in the following week.
"I had a brief discussion with his camp," said Chiarelli of Seguin. "We'll get going on him next week."
That timetable has been extended by the team's inability to reach a deal with Wheeler to avoid arbitration, but an agreement could come quickly once that situation is resolved.
The Oilers signed Hall signed for the rookie maximum, with a $900,000 base salary and another $2.85 million in potential bonuses that push his cap hit to $3.75 million. Given the debates all spring over who should be picked first between the two talented young forwards, Seguin should be in line for an almost identical deal.
The Bruins can absorb the bulk of his bonus money in the bonus cushion provided in the terms of the CBA, though that can come at the expense of next year's cap as the bonuses he attains would be applied then. Still, considering the club's current cap situation, the Bruins might have no choice but to not worry about those bonuses until next year. And if Seguin plays well enough to earn most of those bonuses, the Bruins won't be complaining about having a little less cap flexibility next season.
