The Boston Bruins and Ryan Spooner found common ground, which means the 25-year-old center will be back in the fold next season.
The Bruins and Spooner avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year contract worth $2.825 million, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Wednesday. Spooner’s agent confirmed the story to CSN New England.
The deal represents pretty significant progress between the two sides ahead of a scheduled arbitration hearing Thursday. Spooner reportedly sought $3.825 million, while the Bruins offered $2 million, per reports.
Spooner, as has been the case for much of his career, saw mixed results in 2016-17. Spooner finished the season with 11 goals and 28 assists in 78 games, with most of those 39 points coming in bunches. When the Bruins fired head coach Claude Julien in early February, Spooner totaled nine points in the first 13 games after Bruce Cassidy — who coached Spooner in Providence — took over.
The young center fizzled down the stretch, though, with just three points in the team’s final 11 regular-season games. He added a pair of assists in four playoff games against the Ottawa Senators, but Cassidy opted to sit him for Game 6 of that series, a game that ultimately proved to be the final contest of Boston’s season.
The attention now turns to restricted free agent David Pastrnak, who remains unsigned. According to salary cap websites, the Spooner signing would put the Bruins around the $65 million mark, well below the $75 million salary cap.
Thumbnail photo via Sergei Belski/USA TODAY Sports Images
