The Boston Bruins have the money to be active players in NHL free agency, which begins Wednesday.
While Boston, and every other team, can’t dabble in the open market until noon ET, the Bruins have spent much of the last week ensuring many of their top priorities don’t actually reach said market.
On Friday, they signed Taylor Hall to a four-year, $24 million deal. The B’s reportedly agreed to a three-year deal with Mike Reilly, which will keep the defenseman in Boston with a $3 million cap hit. Earlier in the month, the Bruins signed RFA defenseman Brandon Carlo to a six-year extension.
Tuukka Rask and David Krejci remain unsigned, but both have stated it’s effectively Boston or bust, so the Bruins probably don’t need to go nuts to get something done with them.
With all of that said, the Bruins are looking at a little over $17.5 million in cap space this offseason, according to @bruinscapspace on Twitter.
Now, the Bruins still have to re-sign Krejci and Rask with this space. But if they return it will all but certainly be on much shorter money and term than their previous deals.
In terms of needs, Boston should add a cheap, veteran goaltender with Rask out to begin the season. Despite bringing back Reilly, the Bruins would benefit from bringing on a top-four defenseman. Another middle-six forward should be on the list as well.
Follow along with all the moves Wednesday with our NHL free agency live tracker.
