One thing Don Sweeney wanted to make clear to everybody at the Boston Bruins end-of-season press conference with management: The Bruins are going to be “aggressive” with their $20 plus million in salary cap space this summer.
Sure, they are going to sign Jeremy Swayman to a contract extension that will probably cost them in the $6.5-8 million range in average annual value on a long-term deal, and they’d probably love to get retain Jake DeBrusk for something in the $5 million AAV range. That would still leave them with roughly $10-15 million in cap space to play around with depending on whether or not they can find a taker for goaltender Linus Ullmark this summer.
“We are in a situation where we can look to add to our core group of guys, and that also includes some of the younger guys, as Cam [Neely] mentioned, I think [Matt] Poitras was another one that we're going to hopefully come back as he’s healthy next year and see what he's capable of doing,” said Sweeney. “Moving forward he has to come back in and earn his spot like all of our young players and incoming returning players and how much they can push the group internally.
“But we’re going to be aggressive to be able to complement what we currently have in some areas. Our team played hard, [but the question is] whether or not we can play faster, whether or not we can find players that will create more anxiety on the forecheck in some of the situations. You certainly look at the teams that are still playing and they do a really good job of that. In pockets of time we did, otherwise wouldn't have still been playing. The teams that are still playing are damn good. They earned the right to be there, and we didn’t. It's hard to get in, it's hard to continue to win, but I've got to find the players that we’re confident are going to push us forward.”
So what kind of names are the Bruins expected to be seeking out this summer? One thing hockey people talking heads are saying is that the B’s are fully expected to go after a frontline center after watching Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha struggle a bit as the top two pivots in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It makes too much sense when you watched how much damage a world-class frontline center like Sasha Barkov was able to do against the Black and Gold in the second-round playoff series against the Panthers.
Vancouver Canucks center Elias Lindholm was a name the Bruins were fully interested in last season at the trade deadline, and he headlines a list of centers including Chandler Stephenson that should be on Boston’s free agent list. Stephenson is a two-time Stanley Cup winner with Vegas and Washington and Lindholm has obviously been a frontline center for several teams during his NHL career, but the question is whether either one would be a bona fide No. 1 center.
Elliotte Friedman on today's 32 Thoughts podcast amidst Martin Necas speculation: "There was something going on w/[the Bruins and] another Eastern Conference team, a contender, and Ullmark. I do believe the Bruins & Hurricanes talked an Ullmark deal"https://t.co/XPbZeZzehk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) May 24, 2024
"I expect the Bruins to be in on [Elias Lindholm] if he hits the market,” said Hockey Night in Canada host Elliotte Friedman on this week’s 32 Thoughts podcast. “And you can throw [Vegas Golden Knights center] Chandler Stephenson in there.
“People believe Boston is going to get a center. Whether it's Lindholm, Stephenson or somebody else that we haven’t mentioned, there's a belief they are going to do something down the middle.”
Another center option in trade for the Bruins might be Carolina Hurricanes RFA center Martin Necas, who it appears is looking to get out of Carolina after the 25-year-old totaled 97 goals and 243 points over the last five NHL seasons. Friedman reported that the Bruins and Hurricanes discussed a deal for Ullmark at last spring’s NHL trade deadline, and that swap may have involved a player like Necas going back to Boston.
Adding another Czech player to a group that includes David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha, Jakub Lauko makes a ton of sense given his skill level, youthful age and the kind of playmaker he could be with a Grade-A finisher like Pastrnak.
"There was something going on with [the Bruins and] another Eastern Conference team, a contender, and Ullmark,” said Friedman. “I do believe the Bruins & Hurricanes talked an Ullmark deal.”
There are other big-time names in NHL free agency this summer among forwards, of course, with Sam Reinhart, Jake Guentzel and Steve Stamkos expected to hit the market among others, so there will no shortage of intriguing options for a Boston Bruins group that promises to be aggressive this summer after being handcuffed by the salary cap a year ago.
SWAYMAN A PRIORITY
Speaking of RFA Swayman, getting the Bruins goaltender a contract to keep him in Boston is obviously a priority this summer as he once again faces possible arbitration. While the B’s and Swayman could technically go that route again this summer, don’t count on it after Swayman posted a .933 save percentage as the most dominant goaltender in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
One would hazard a guess that it’s going to be a long-term, big-money deal north of John Gibson ($6.4M per season) and Matt Murray ($6.25M per season) money, but not quite at the Ilya Sorokin ($8.25M per season) contract level given there are still some questions to be answered during the regular season. Either way, it will probably be the first thing that the B’s get done as they budget the rest of their offseason and how much they can spend on some external talent to add to the roster.
“It’s clearly a priority, and Jeremy [Swayman] knows, I told him. He took us to arbitration just for clarity,” said Sweeney, making sure to note that it is the player that actually files for salary arbitration. “Again, that’s part of it is no different than Trent Frederic and not being able to settle. Sometimes those things happen of course, and it's not an indication of whether or not we didn't believe in Jeremy Swayman or whether or not we don’t think he could have been part of our future.
“We clearly engaged in conversation during regular season to define the longer-term extension and we haven't gotten there yet. it’s a priority now and it will continue to be a priority until we get that across the finish line. He’s a big part of our current team and our record in playoffs, and our future. Our goaltending is arguably one of the best tandems in the National Hockey League, and they proved [to be one of the best] during the course of the season. They put us in the situation most nights to have an opportunity to win. The priority will be to find a landing spot with Jeremy.”
ONE TIMERS
*Win or lose, kudos to Pastrnak and Zacha for hustling out to Prague to help push Team Czechia into Sunday’s gold medal game for the IIHF World Championships against Team Switzerland. Their presence had a huge impact on the Czech roster and certainly would be something winning a world championship title in their capital city of Prague, particularly after being snubbed by the NHL for the Four Nations tournament next season.
GOAL🚨: The Czechs get on the board and open the scoring for the game with a GOALL from Pavel Zacha!
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) May 23, 2024
The home crowd is feeling the passion!!!! #MensWorlds pic.twitter.com/FvS43GMTTH
*Sweeney not exactly pouring cold water on the trade conversations he’s likely to have about Ullmark this summer with the goaltender holding a limited no-trade clause in his contract. Certainly the $5 million in salary cap savings would be attractive to the Bruins with Swayman ascending into a No. 1 goalie role, and with Brandon Bussi seemingly ready for NHL backup duty after another outstanding season in Providence.
The Bruins GM wondered aloud if Ullmark will change his mind about going elsewhere this summer, an allusion to perhaps A) a contract extension waiting for him elsewhere or B) the prospect of losing playing time to Swayman perhaps adding to the incentive for a new NHL home location.
“We're gonna find a landing spot with Jeremy Swayman, and if we can make the math work, we're going to have the best tandem. If we can't, we're going to explore, and for Linus [Ullmark], he may come to us and change his mind [about a trade], that may occur as well,” said Sweeney. “Right now, we're very happy to have Linus [Ullmark] signed, and in a perfect world, we would keep the tandem because I think it's damn good. But we're going to explore opportunities. My phone's going to ring, I'm going to make calls. That's just what the job requires.”