The Seattle Kraken expansion draft might stand as the top news item on Wednesday, but Don Sweeney and the Bruins’ schedule is about to shift into another gear shortly thereafter — with the roster freeze that has impacted 31 of the 32 NHL teams set to be thawed at 1 p.m. on Thursday.
And once said roster freeze is over and done with, the Bruins very well could be on the verge of bringing back on of its top offseason priorities in Taylor Hall.
According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Bruins have made “meaningful progress” with Hall when it comes to hashing out the details of a new contract — with both parties potentially set to cross the t’s and dot the i’s on the deal shortly after the signing moratorium is lifted. Seravalli projected the deal would fall into the range of four years with an average annual cap hit of $6 million.
It won’t come as much of a surprise if other teams follow Boston’s lead if it manages to lock up Hall shortly after the expansion draft. By holding off on signing players until after the Kraken parses through 30 rosters (Vegas is exempt), teams can avoid using a coveted protection slot on a player that there could just sign right after the draft is held.
It’s the best of both worlds for Boston in that signing Hall after July 21 not only ensures that the coveted left winger doesn’t head to the UFA market on July 28 — but they didn’t have to use a protection slot that would have then forced Boston to leave a skater like Jake DeBrusk up for grabs for Seattle.
And if we’re staying on the “best of both worlds” mantra, locking in Hall to that term and annual pay also seems like a win-win for the Bruins in terms of finding fair value, maximizing this current window and not getting tied down by a longer contract in case a major rebuild/retool is on the horizon.
Hall, who expressed an interest in returning to Boston multiple times during his end-of-season presser, very easily could have secured a longer-term deal (hell, if New York can give Barclay Goodrow six years, than anything is possible) on the open market, with an AAV $7 million or above also feasible given how his stock soared after joining Boston.
As disappointing as Boston’s second-round exit was for both Hall and countless other forwards outside of that top line, retaining Hall was going to be one of the top objectives for the B’s this offseason — standing as arguably the most affordable option as far as giving that second line a star presence moving forward.
David Krejci’s return stands as the other shoe to drop when it comes to gauging how lethal that second line can be, but if the veteran pivot returns and either Craig Smith or potentially a UFA/trade target are slotted in at RW, it sure seems like Hall could be in line for a 30-goal, 70-point campaign if all key cogs remain healthy.
Be it his offensive abilities (especially on the rush), his transition game or two-way game (Boston outscored opponents, 15-1, during his 5v5 reps with the B’s during the regular season), $6 million is more than fair value given all that Hall can (and will continue to do) for the Bruins.
Seattle targeting Lauzon?
We’ll have more coverage on the Expansion Draft later tonight, but it sure seems like every pick might get spoiled before ESPN’s broadcast gets underway this evening. Among the many reportedly leaks is Jeremy Lauzon set to head west, per Chris Johnston on Sportsnet.
Such a development isn’t much of a surprise, given that we tabbed either Lauzon or Connor Clifton as the players that the Kraken would likely target on Boston’s roster. Lauzon might have a higher ceiling than Clifton, but we went with Clifton given his added experience, recent play and the fact that he’s also signed to a bargain of a deal ($1 million AAV through 2023).
While losing Lauzon is a tough hit to Boston’s depth chart, especially on the left side, the expectation going into the offseason was that the B’s were going to have to upgrade their left side either way — with plenty of free agents up for grabs like Ryan Suter, Jake McCabe and Alec Martinez.
Had Boston lost Clifton, not only would they still have to shore up the left side, but it’d also have to address a vacancy on the right side following Clifton’s exit and Kevan Miller’s retirement. Boston might still kick the tires on an affordable, right-shot D like Jani Hakanpaa, but it’s not nearly as much of a priority with at least Clifton back in the fold.
Kraken set to snag Oleksiak
Retaining pending UFAs like Hall and Krejci might stand at the top of Sweeney’s to-do list this summer, but the expectation is that the B’s will also need to be very aggressive once free agency officially begins on July 28th.
Unfortunately for the B’s, one potential target is set to get scooped up before any other club can pitch an offer — as the Kraken are reportedly close to signing big-bodied defenseman Jamie Oleksiak, per Seravalli.
Even though the Kraken have likely spent most of the last few days assessing other teams’ rosters and sorting through lists of unprotected players — Seattle GM Ron Francis also has a window to discuss contracts with other teams' pending UFAs during this time before the roster freeze is lifted.
Oleksiak, clocking in at 6-foot-7, 255 pounds, sure fits the mold of what I’m sure most Bruins fans were envisioning when it came to Sweeney possibly beefing up his blue line this summer, with the former Northeastern Husky also more than capable as far as generating offense goes — along with his obvious shutdown profile.
We’ll see what the term and annual payout is, but losing out on Oleksiak is a tough hit for a Bruins team that absolutely needs to add some snarl on defense, Thankfully, as we noted above, there are plenty of other targets out there in free agency for the Bruins, especially with Suter now a UFA.