Don Sweeney and the Bruins are going to have their work cut out for them this summer when it comes to keeping a roster currently on pace for a Presidents' Trophy intact beyond the 2019-20 campaign.
But when compared to the cap crunch Boston faced last summer (a little over $12 million set aside for pending RFAs in Charlie McAvoy, Brandon Carlo and Danton Heinen), the 2020 offseason might seem a walk in the park for Boston’s front office.
Still, even if Boston has a bit more capital to spend, multiple questions still loom once free agency commences — headlined by Torey Krug and the sizable pay raise heading his way.
But he’s far from the only B’s player due for a financial lift in the coming months. Zdeno Chara, Jaroslav Halak and Joakim Nordstrom will also hit the open market, while four more regulars on Boston’s NHL roster are set to enter restricted free agency in Matt Grzelcyk, Jake DeBrusk, Anders Bjork and Karson Kuhlman.
Boston does have the luxury of having some dead money come off the books to help aid in its offseason pursuits.
Over $3 million will be freed up when both the final chunk of Dennis Seidenberg's buyout deal and Matt Beleskey’s deferred salary are cashed out for good — while Boston will also only be saddled with $1.5 million of David Backes’ $6 million cap hit next year thanks to last month’s trade with the Ducks.
But even more cap relief — or rather room — could be on the way for a B’s team looking to capitalize on its current championship window.
The NHL’s salary cap is once again set to rise this upcoming season — as we all expected. But the surge might be much higher than many were predicting.
Following the league’s GM meetings down in Boca Raton, deputy commissioner Bill Daly noted that the $81.5 million cap limit set for the 2019-20 campaign is set to jump to anywhere between $84 to $88.2 million for the 2020-21 season.
That final total will likely not be revealed until June once the Stanley Cup Playoffs have wrapped up — and will hinge on how much the NHL Players’ Association opts to inflate the upper limit.
As NHL.com’s Dan Rosen notes:
“The $84 million projection is with a zero percent inflator; the $88.2 million projection would comprise the full 5 percent.
The NHLPA triggered a 1 percent inflator to get the cap to $81.5 million this season.”
So it remains to be seen just how much added cash will be available for Boston to use this summer, but there stands a chance that the club could have an added $3-4 million more than what it originally anticipated — and could be the difference between checking off all offseason priorities or letting a big fish slip away.
Based on Boston’s current contracts and the expected room available this summer, the Bruins should have anywhere between $23-27 million in available cap in order to re-up their pool of UFAs and younger assets.
Let’s be optimistic and say that the cap limit is pushed to the max of $88.2 million — that would give Boston about
$26.9 million
to work with this offseason.
Now, let’s go down the list:
Torey Krug:
The Bruins want Krug back, and Krug wants to stay here. This one should seem like a no-brainer, especially if Boston wants to maximize this 2-3 year window as a legitimate Cup contender. But there are plenty of other factors that could thwart a long-term extension between both parties — whether it be the continued development of younger blueliners like Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo, the incoming headaches prompted by the Seattle expansion draft and, of course, the threat of other teams throwing their checkbook at a power-play quarterback like Krug. Ultimately, term might be the biggest sticking point here, but with Boston having a couple million bucks freed up, let’s say the B's ink Krug to a six-year, $45 million deal
($7.5 million AAV)
.
Zdeno Chara:
At this point, it seems as though Boston is putting the ball in Chara’s court when it comes to charting out his future in the NHL. Even at 42 years old, Chara is still a top-pairing, shutdown presence and an anchor on a PK unit. If Chara comes back, it’d likely by for a similar
$2 million AAV
deal he signed last March — with the option for additional performance-based bonuses.
Jaroslav Halak:
Much like Krug, Halak has been a key part of Boston’s success over the past two seasons, but very well could be gone this summer if another team really wants to throw starting netminder money at him. At the very least, it seems like a given that the 34-year-old Halak is due for a solid raise from the $2.75 million he’s making this season.
Boston might have to walk away from Halak and look elsewhere or from within (
Dan Vladar
and his .935 save percentage is waiting in the wings down in Providence) if the money is too much. We’ll revisit Halak once we look and see how much it costs to re-up the rest of Boston’s pending FAs.
Kevan Miller:
Miller, who is in the final stretch of four-year, $10 million deal he signed in May 2016, unfortunately seems to be as good as gone. While the veteran was already on the outside looking in with cheaper alternatives like
Jeremy Lauzon
and
Connor Clifton
emerging, Miller’s injury history — including his current recovery back from a pair of kneecap fractures — makes him expendable.
Joakim Nordstrom:
Nordstrom has served as Boston's Swiss (Swedish?) Army Knife over the last two seasons, but it seems as though the B’s will likely turn to
Par Lindholm
and a couple of younger options next season to fill out Boston’s bottom-six corps.
Jake DeBrusk:
He’s certainly a streaky player, but DeBrusk still has plenty of value as a young winger that has tallied 62 goals over 202 games. A more consistent campaign could have secured DeBrusk 30 goals and some major cash, but the top-six forward is still set to make way more than the $863,333 he’s making this season. Let’s tab the AAV on his next deal at
$3.5 - 4 million.
Matt Grzelcyk:
Another bargain for Boston that’s only making $1.4 million this season, Grzelcyk is another key cog on Boston’s blue line that could likely be in line for an even bigger payday on a team with more minutes available, especially on a top power-play unit. Still, Grzelcyk’s game is perfect in today’s faster NHL — and his stock has continued to rise. Let’s tab his value on his next deal at
$2.75 million.
Anders Bjork + Karson Kuhlman:
Both wingers could be key contributors on the Bruins for years to come, although it seems as though both players won’t necessarily break the bank with these upcoming deals. Let’s tab Bjork at
$1.5 - 2 million AAV
and Kuhlman at
$1.2 million AAV.
So, let’s add up those contracts and see if Boston and its potential $26.9 million in available cap space can make it work.
Krug ($7.5) + Chara ($2) + DeBrusk (3.75) + Grzelcyk (2.75) + Bjork ($1.5) + Kuhlman ($1.2) = $18.7 million
Not too bad — given that Boston would still have around $8.2 million hanging around to sign Halak if it wanted to, or perhaps even add another player in free agency.
Setting aside some cap room for the future would also seem to a prudent move — given that more paydays await in the coming years, as CapFriendly notes below:
Of course, some additional cap relief could be prescribed in the coming years when two of Boston’s most costly contracts (
David Krejci
and
Tuukka Rask)
come off the books in 2021 (presenting another set of challenges — but that’s for another time).
OTHER NOTES
Johnny Boychuk
Artturi Lehkonen
