The signing of Craig Smith most certainly tightens the Boston Bruins’ salary cap situation.
That said, with a little creativity the Bruins conceivably could remain in the market for some of the top free agents.
Alex Pietrangelo remains unsigned into Day 2 of free agency, as does Taylor Hall. The St. Louis Blues effectively moved on from Pietrangelo when they signed Torey Krug, and the Arizona Coyotes don’t have the cap space to retain Hall.
The Bruins are among the teams linked to Hall, and on Saturday, Bruins general manager Don Sweeney was asked if the team was pursuing top free agents like Hall and Pietrangelo.
“We’re comfortable having conversations with the remaining free agents that we feel would help our club,” Sweeney said over Zoom. “I have not, full disclosure in this case, I have not had a discussion with Pietrangelo’s camp. We feel that our right side might not be the absolute best fit for our club. Very respectful for the player, an elite player in the National Hockey League. That’s not the discussion we’ve had. In regards to other players, we’re certainly engaging the interest on both sides of it and seeing what we can potentially fit in.”
While that certainly indicates that Pietrangelo might not be a fit, you’ll notice Hall, who reportedly is not opposed to a short-term deal, is not mentioned by name. Make of that what you will.
