Don Sweeney got some important work done before Thanksgiving, but that doesn’t mean the summer will be significantly quieter.
The Boston Bruins on Wednesday signed Charlie Coyle to a six-year contract extension and Chris Wagner to a three-year extension. Coyle’s deal will cost $5.25 million annually, while Wagner’s will come in at $1.35 million. Both deals begin at the start of next season.
While it’s a good thing that the Bruins took care of the two local boys, the list of both unrestricted and restricted free agents for next offseason remains somewhat lengthy.
Unrestricted free agents include Torey Krug, Zdeno Chara, Joakim Nordstrom, Kevan Miller and Jaroslav Halak. Boston’s RFA class includes Jake DeBrusk, Matt Grzelcyk, Anders Bjork, Karson Kuhlman and Brett Ritchie.
According to @BruinsCapSpace on Twitter, that leaves Boston with roughly $19.7 to sign all of those guys.
Update with some down time available. A Thanksgiving miracle. pic.twitter.com/CTptp0Zkts
— LTIR$0=BruinsCapspace (@bruinscapspace) November 28, 2019
It’s worth bearing in mind that the salary cap will fluctuate, so that number that they have to get under very well might change.
Some prioritizing obviously will need to be done when it comes to negotiating with free agents, but all things considered the Bruins aren’t in too bad a position given who they have to sign. Plus, they have over half a year to figure this stuff out, so it’s not like they need to rush.
