NHL Notebook: Where do things stand early on with the Bruins unrestricted free agents?

Among the offseason priorities for the Bruins will be making decisions on each of the seven pending unrestricted free agents.

Trade deadline splashes like Tyler Bertuzzi and Dmitry Orlov will be in search of big tickets, while depth like Nick Foligno, Tomas Nosek and Connor Clifton may be priced out.

Boston is projected to have approximately $4.9 million in cap space. Don Sweeney, who is expected to meet with the media on Tuesday, will need to be creative in concocting more financial flexibility for the roster.

For the purposes of this exercise, we'll leave out Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, whose situations are a little more unique. Krejci said this week he hopes to have his decision "soon," while Bergeron's ballpark appears to be before July 1.

It's (very) early on in the postseason. Here's where the UFAs' heads are at:

Tyler Bertuzzi:

Bertuzzi picked up 16 points (4g) in 24 regular season games since arriving from Detroit. In the playoffs, he was Boston's most productive skater with five goals and five assists in seven games. He emerged as a dangerous net-front presence on the power play, and his playmaking ability and chemistry with David Pastrnak became apparent. 

The 29-year-old said this past week that he'd have to talk with his family before getting a better idea of what's ahead, but he enjoyed his time in Boston.

"We loved it. We honestly had such a blast," Bertuzzi said. "We were in the north end. Ate pasta every day, went for walks, we had a lot of fun, and we enjoyed it here. So yeah, we could definitely see [myself re-signing]."

The B's outscored opponents 17-11 at 5-on-5 with Bertuzzi on the ice in the regular season, according to Natural Stat Trick. They held a 58.82 percent advantage in scoring chances as well. However, puck-management and defensive zone play proved to be red flags down the stretch.

The winger, on an expiring $4.75 million deal, has a young family to consider, and this may one of his last chances to land a big contract in the NHL. For the Bruins, it might come down to a decision between Bertuzzi or Taylor Hall, currently making $6 million for two more seasons. Boston parted ways with a first-round pick to acquire Bertuzzi as well. 

Dmitry Orlov:

The B's also sent away a first-rounder for Orlov's services. 

The 31-year-old caught fire when he first arrived in Boston with 12 points in his first nine games on the blue line before finishing with 17 points in 21 games. In the playoffs, Orlov remained productive on the backend with eight helpers in the first round. Still, he was not as stout defensively as was expected, and turnovers plagued him in addition to the rest of the defensive group.

He said he felt rejuvenated with the Bruins.

"I said once in one interview when I got here, but I just enjoy hockey," Orlov said. "I’ve been eleven years in this league, and I played in Russia as a grown-up and as a kid too. You still enjoy hockey. It’s important. It doesn't matter what age. You still want to feel like a kid. You have to have that feeling in your life. It doesn’t matter if you’re twenty or forty years old. It’s important — I enjoyed this time."

Like Bertuzzi, Orlov doesn't know his plans just yet.

"I don’t know. Right now, it’s dark. What I’m going to do, I don’t know," he said. "If I fly back to Washington or stay here. It’s a lot of things. Obviously, I’m going to have to make a decision. Where I’m going to be, and I need to talk to my family and figure it out from there."

The Russian was a monster at 5-on-5 for Boston in the regular season. With Orlov on for 380:01 of ice time, the Bruins outscored teams 18-9 in addition to a 61.64 percent hold on scoring chances and a 55.26 percent edge in shots on goal. 

This will likely be the 31-year-old's last NHL contract. His expected raise from his current $5.1 million salary may have to come from another team.

Garnet Hathaway:

Part of the Orlov package, Hathaway was brought in as a physical, defensively responsible presence to shore up the fourth line. 

He was a punishing presence with 70 hits in 25 regular season games. Even with 27 blows in the seven-game first round, Hathaway's physical impact didn't seem to have its desired effect, and his struggles to clear the puck helped lead to Florida's second goal in Game 7.

"From the moment I got here, I’ve said it a few times — I felt welcomed," Hathaway said. "It was a group that brought me, Orly and Bert in as if we’d been here all season. That was how it felt. That’s how it transitioned onto the ice too, the chemistry was great with the lines we were on and the team we were with, and I think that was built from how the guys treated us and the characters in this room. It was really special."

Hathaway said he'd let the dust settle before speaking to his agent to get a clearer picture. Like Washington, the Bruins trusted him defensively. He began approximately 18 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone with Boston. 

The 31-year-old is currently making $1.5 million. With more turnover on the horizon in the Bruins' bottom-six and fourth line, his services as a veteran role player may be desired, but Boston likely would not be able to make it work for anything more than his current cap hit. 

Nick Foligno: 

Foligno found his game again this season after ups and downs his first year in Boston, putting up 10 goals and 26 points after two tallies and 13 points last season.

After summers of rehabbing injuries, Foligno reaped the benefits of a normal offseason in 2022, allowing him to return to a typical training regimen. His resurgence earned him a nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy.

"I think that’s probably the most emotional part too, not really knowing what’s going to happen here," Foligno said of his uncertain future. "I think it’s no secret, I love it here. I’ve bonded with these guys, and we’ve gone through a lot, and I’ve felt like I’ve given what I can to this group, and I hope to come back and finish what we’ve started. That’s my biggest thing, I don’t know, I can’t control what Sweens, and Cam [Neely] and the staff decide, I think the feeling’s mutual, just got to try to figure out something, but we’ll see how that goes. Obviously, I would prefer to come back, especially with the way things ended and what I foresee for this group, there are still a lot of great players, and it’s hard to see because there’s going to be change, but you hope to be part of it and rectify what went wrong this year."

The 35-year-old would not consider retirement, even if he can't return to Boston.

"I still feel like I have lots to give, and especially with the motivation of this year going into the summer, it can only burn the fire inside me even more," he said.

Foligno missed 22 games at the end of the regular season due to a lower-body injury. He was a healthy scratch in Game 7. The Bruins may have missed his presence on the ice and on the bench. 

"I feel 100%. So, it’s tough, not to be on that Game 7 and have to watch — I care a lot about this group, we’ve been through a lot, and we want nothing more than to be out there with them at that time," Foligno said. "So, that one will eat at me a little bit, but it’s not going to change who I am or how I approach things. It’s only going to make me better; I’m looking for to putting that into my offseason."

Foligno will in all likelihood be taking a cut from his current $3.8 million cap hit. The Bruins value his intangibles and contributions in the bottom six, but there may not be an agreement to be had if Foligno would not be willing to return on the cheap. 

Tomas Nosek:

Nosek said remaining in Boston is at the top of his offseason checklist.

"Like, I want to stay here, it’s my number one priority," he said. "We love Boston, my family loves Boston and if there’s a chance I sign here, I want to stay here, but it’s not up to me, right now, and we’ll see what’s going to happen."

The 30-year-old saw his production jump from three goals to seven between last season and 2022-23. He was one of Jim Montgomery's most reliable defensive forwards with a dominant season at the face-off dot (59.3 percent), logging 159:42 of 5-on-4 shorthanded ice time, the second-most among Bruins forwards.

"I got my confidence back for sure, offensively. Felt better too, this year, first year is always tough when you change places and teams," Nosek said. "Especially for a guy like me, I’m a little bit quiet so it should — now I know everyone a little bit more and I really like the group, the guys were amazing the whole season, we’ve been tied together, and how I said before, if there is a chance I can stay here, I will stay here."

The Bruins have young centers like Marc McLaughlin and John Beecher in the system. They may prove ready to shoulder more NHL responsibility, and they'd be cheaper than Nosek's current $1.75 million.

Connor Clifton:

Clifton had a tremendous start to the season while Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk recovered from off-season surgeries.

He eventually settled in on the third pair with Derek Forbort. In the playoffs, Clifton was a liability. Florida outscored the Bruins 5-1 with Clifton on at 5-on-5, and Boston had just a 38.78 share of shots on goal. There were seismic blunders in Game 6, whether it be the charging penalty, the two turnovers that led directly to goals or being caught out of position. 

"Obviously, I wish I had done a lot better of a job [in Game 6], especially having fresh legs because I got to rest [Games] 3 to 5," Clifton said. "Looking back on it now, I wish obviously it went differently. I wish I could come in there with those fresh legs and impact the game in a good way, get that win and close out that series. That’s not how sports work all the time. So, I’m pretty disappointed in how that game went for me personally. I guess you move forward, right?"

"[Sweeney and I] kind of talked about the past couple years, especially this year. He was proud of the regular season I had. Obviously, I think we both wished the postseason, for me, went a little better. He obviously has a lot of work to do, he said. He hopes I’m part of what we’re building for the future."

Clifton would like to stay, and the feeling may be mutual, based on what he said. However, he's due a decent raise from his current $1 million. That will likely come from another team.

There's also Chris Wagner, stashed away in AHL Providence. He may want a chance to prove he's still an NHL player elsewhere.

Other notes...

Panthers creating headaches for Leafs

Florida has had a ton of success creating puck-management issues in the defensive zone for the other team. 

Hmm.

After their forecheck dismantled the Bruins' defensive structure in the first round, the Panthers have forced the Maple Leafs into the same trap that caught Boston.

Toronto's giveaways have been in double digits in both games of the series that Florida leads, 2-0. In Game 2, the Leafs committed 18 giveaways. That's how many the Bruins had in their Game 7 defeat, which was the most of any game in that first-round series.

The Cats scored three unanswered for a pivotal win on Thursday. All three goals came within fewer than 10 seconds of a Toronto giveaway. The first Florida goal came off a miscommunication and a pass to no one behind the net. The next two were a result of the Leafs being unable to break the puck out cleanly, turning it over within feet of their blue line.

Sound familiar? Seems like we've seen this movie before.

Home cooking still lacking in the second round

Touched on it last week, but home teams haven't exactly enjoyed home-ice advantage in the playoffs, so far. Just ask the Bruins, who went 1-3. Before Game 6 in Florida, Jim Montgomery and players like Matt Grzelcyk and Foligno brought up overcomplicating things and wanting to do too much for a home crowd.

Taylor Hall previously said, "If you look throughout the playoffs, the road teams have done better. I'm not really sure why. It's the opposite of the regular season. Maybe it's just you're in a hotel and you're around the guys and the focus is a lot more. Maybe there are fewer distractions. I'm not sure."

In all, visiting teams were 39-19 in the first round, a record for road wins in a round. Six of the eight teams to advance to the second round closed out their first rounds on the road. 

So far in the second round, you have the Panthers opening up a 2-0 series lead on the road in Toronto as well as Seattle and Edmonton each taking a game on the road to begin their series.

Chalk it up to parity, less intimidating atmospheres or distractions, but folks like Dallas' Peter DeBoer still find home ice to be important. 

“I honestly think early in a series, I’ve said this before, starting at home is tougher," DeBoer told reporters before the Stars' second-round series with Seattle. "I think as the series goes on, there’s no doubt home ice is more of an advantage. You want Games 5 and 7 at home. I don’t care what the records say, you want those games in your rink.”

Temperature increasing around Rangers

The Blue Shirts parted ways with Gerard Gallant in what's being sold as a mutual decision. 

After making big splashes at the deadline for the likes of Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko, the Rangers fizzled out in seven games, like a fellow Eastern Conference contender. 

With a strong core, arguably the best goaltender in the league in Igor Shesterkin, a trip to the conference finals last year and big moves during the last year, it's understandable that the organization with James Dolan as its owner won't stand for a first-round exit. It's especially glaring when stars like Artemi Panarin or high draft picks like Alexis Lafreniere and Kaapo Kakko were virtual no-shows in the postseason. 

Gallant's old-school style leaves room to be desired in the tactical and motivational aspects of coaching, but at the end of the day, it's up to the players to play, too. Chris Drury isn't letting them off easily, though.

"We win as a team and lose as a team," Drury told reporters Saturday. "If I could reference the exit meetings, the good thing is that no one wants to be let off the hook. Everyone throughout this last week has been taking a good, long, hard look in the mirror and using it as motivation and a learning experience."

There was the thought of the Rangers throwing caution to the wind and trying to bring in the embattled Joel Quenneville to get more out of Panarin and possibly entice Kane to re-sign, but the New York Post reported that won't happen. Quenneville is not cleared to return to the NHL due to his involvement in the Kyle Beach situation in Chicago in 2010.

NHL Draft Lottery set for Monday

Around 8 p.m. on Monday, a couple of ping pong balls will determine a significant course of the league's future. 

The Draft Lottery will leave one franchise feeling as if it's actually hit the jackpot as consensus No. 1 pick Connor Bedard looms large over the proceedings.

He has the chance to become one of the next generational faces of the league with hype on par with that which Connor McDavid experienced.

It's not exactly like a team falling short of the top overall selection will be totally out of luck either. This year's draft is slated to be arguably the deepest group since the hype around the 2015 draft, headlined by McDavid and Jack Eichel. 

The sure-fire No. 2 pick, Adam Fantilli, just became the third freshman to win the Hobey Baker Award after a historic season at Michigan. There's Boston College commit Will Smith, breaking records of his own with the U.S. development program. Among the Europeans are crafty Russian Matvei Michkov, one of the most interesting prospects in this year's first round, and top Swede Leo Carlsson.

Among the lottery teams is Columbus, which also has a coaching vacancy. The prospect of having Bedard join a semi-turn-key roster would surely increase the talent pool willing to throw a hat into the ring to become the new Blue Jackets' bench boss. 

A Bedard, Fantilli or so on could help Philadelphia fast-track a retool after bottoming out this season. It would certainly help things along in Chicago and San Jose. Meanwhile, Anaheim could add a franchise center to a forward group that already boasts Mason McTavish and Trevor Zegras down the middle.

A lot at stake.

Here are the odds to get the first overall pick:

Anaheim, 18.5 percent; Columbus, 13.5 percent; Chicago, 11.5 percent; San Jose, 9.5 percent; Montreal, 8.5 percent; Arizona, 7.5 percent; Philadelphia, 6.5 percent; Washington, 6.0 percent; Detroit, 5.0 percent; St. Louis, 3.5 percent; Vancouver, 3.0 percent; Arizona (from Ottawa), 2.5 percent; Buffalo, 2.0 percent; Pittsburgh, 1.5 percent; Nashville, 0.5 percent; Calgary, 0.5 percent.