The Boston Bruins are thinning out on defense.
Steven Kampfer is off to Russia, while Mike Reilly and Jarred Tinordi are unrestricted free agents. Now, we learned Wednesday that Kevan Miller would be retiring. He was an unrestricted free agent anyways, so they had to have at least been considering life without him.
Boston had to use 11 defenseman this past season, and now two of them are confirmed to be gone, while Tinordi and Reilly have uncertain futures with the Bruins. Boston also has to leave some enticing players — Connor Clifton, Jeremy Lauzon and Jakub Zboril among them — exposed for the expansion draft.
So, it probably isn’t just a minutes-eating left-shot defenseman that they need anymore, they need some of those depth guys like Miller.
Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Matt Grzelcyk will be protected from Seattle. Carlo needs a new deal since he’s a restricted free agent, but something will get figured out. Clifton, Lauzon, Zboril and John Moore all will be exposed to Seattle but otherwise should be back next season. The Bruins also have some prospect depth with Urho Vaakanainen, Jack Ahcan and Brady Lyle.
Reilly sounds like he wants to be back, and re-signing Tinordi makes some sense too. But the Bruins probably knew that retirement would be on the table for Miller, so they surely have their list of guys they’d like to pursue.
What this means for the organization in the short term then is that they probably need to sign at least one veteran depth defenseman (outside of Tinordi and Reilly) who will come in on a cheap deal and can vie for a third pairing role.
Jani Hakanpää makes a lot of sense, and could be an everyday third pairing player. he took a big step with the Anaheim Ducks this season, then was added by the Carolina Hurricanes for their playoff push. Zach Bogosian also fits that mold, as does Luke Schenn, both of whom were on the 2020 Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning.
But as the old adage goes, you can never have too much NHL defensive depth. Someone like Moore could become increasingly important next season. Even if he is, the Bruins need to add at least one more player from outside.
It’s worth seeing what kind of depth they have with the prospects. Lyle, for example, was great in Providence last season and just got an NHL deal and Ahcan looked promising in limited NHL action. Those are wild cards though, which is why they need the Hakanpää or Schenn types.
Those guys are out there, and snatching one up becomes all the more imperative after the Miller news.
