There has been a lot of money thrown around this NHL offseason with the salary cap steadily rising, but thankfully the Boston Bruins have spent out the wild spending sprees for the most part. Instead, they traded for a couple of players signed to longer-term deals in JJ Peterka and Will Borgen in a pretty savvy acknowledgement that one of the more valuable things moving forward is going to be useful players signed at yesterday’s market prices. Still, there will be times when the Bruins will have to extend beyond where they are probably comfortable, just as they did when they re-signed Jeremy Swayman to a long-term contract extension that’s already beginning to look really good in the new landscape.
It’s part of the reason the B’s enter the calmest part of the NHL offseason with over $5 million in salary cap space and depth at all positions that will make the fight for NHL roster spots extremely fierce during training camp.
“We're in a pretty good spot from a cap standpoint right now. We should try and maintain flexibility, and if we can garner more [cap space] because there's a trade opportunity with an eye towards the future, of course we're going to consider it,” said Don Sweeney. “That's not my main principal point of attack. I'm not looking to just open up space for what might happen, I want to maintain flexibility, I want to pursue things that improve our hockey club when they present.
“If there are players that [view us as a] destination team, but not everybody has identified us. We want to become that place [where players] say, ‘No, no, no, that's where I want to play.’”
Clearly the Bruins are maintaining some flexibility in case big targets suddenly get traction with the Bruins, as Dylan Larkin still looks for a landing spot as he tries to leave Detroit, and young players like Alexander Nikishin continue to stand in limbo without a contract for their current team.
But there is still a very strong mid-tier level of free agent players without contracts at this point in the offseason that could turn into a bargain for NHL teams looking to pull in a value signing or two.
Here’s a look at some of those Filene’s Basement (does that still even exist anymore or am I completely dating myself?) bargain players still available out on the market to the highest bidder:
*Vladimir Tarasenko – the 34-year-old is coming off a strong season where he posted 23 goals and 47 points in 75 games for the Minnesota Wild and showed that he’s still able to light the lamp even as he creeps into NHL middle age. It would seem that Tarasenko is patiently waiting for the right opportunity to open up on a contending team after hooking on with the Panthers and the Wild in the last few seasons sandwiched around one forgettable year in Detroit.
*Patrik Laine – The 28-year-old Finnish winger is a long way away from the guy who scored 44 goals for the Winnipeg Jets 10 years ago, but he still managed to score 20 goals for the Habs a couple of years ago. Last season, injuries limited him to five games with the Canadiens, and he’s been a minus player for six straight seasons while racking up more publicity and attention for his Bond villain fashion sense than for his offensive production.
Patrik Laine: Outfit-technisch bereit für die #StanleyCup-Playoffs! 😍
— NHL Deutsch (@NHLde) April 22, 2025
(📸 @canadiensmtl) | #GoHabsGo | @PatrikLaine29 | #Laine pic.twitter.com/3Nq9AXpqoV
Still, he would be an interesting investment for an NHL team starved for offense if you can sign him to a low-to-no-risk contract where he’s looking to prove that he still belongs in the league.
*Michael Bunting – The 30-year-old forward certainly opened eyes during his first few years in Toronto, where he posted a season of 23 goals, 39 points, and 103 penalty minutes that generally indicates being a very unique kind of player. But he’s also a guy who’s been traded in each of the last three seasons and has now played for six NHL teams during his 418-game NHL career, which suggests he has trouble staying in one place. It feels like the ability is there for him to be a bottom-6 difference-maker, though some of the truculence seems to have faded over the last few years as he moved from Carolina to Pittsburgh to Nashville and then to Dallas at the end of last season. It’s curious that he’s still available given the numbers he’s produced over the last five seasons.
*Eeli Tolvanen – The 27-year-old Tolvanen settled into a solid role as a middle-6 forward with the Kraken, where he averaged 17 goals and 39 points over the last three seasons but had his second-lowest goal output (12 goals) and worst plus/minus (minus-18) in his last couple of seasons in Seattle. He may be waiting for a richer or longer-term deal than has currently been offered on the market, but there’s no reason he shouldn’t be back on an NHL roster this upcoming season given his age, production, and his standing as a former first-round pick.
*Logan Stanley – The 28-year-old struggled a little to find his game in Buffalo after being traded at the deadline, but the 6-foot-7, 231-pounder was always a physical presence and consistent defender that upped his offensive game this past season with 10 goals and 26 points while topping 100 penalty minutes for the first time in his career. Clearly, Stanley was looking for a deal that represented the jump in his game this past season and his unique standing as one of the biggest, strongest players in the league. Somebody is going to get great value with this player.
*John Klingberg – The 33-year-old offensive D-man had a nice bounce-back year in San Jose after back-to-back injury-plagued seasons, but the Sharks moved on to make over their entire back end despite his 10 goals and 27 points in 56 games last season. Klingberg isn’t the same puck mover and PP quarterback that he was during his early years in Dallas but again looks like a player that could be useful in terms of offense from the back end if he were playing a limited role on a team. Certainly, he’ll get a look somewhere after showing he could still play in San Jose, even if it’s also clear that there are things to cover up in his game defensively.
*Matt Grzelcyk – The 32-year-old is just shy of 600 career games in his NHL career and had a decent season in Chicago with 12 points in 69 games after a career-best 40 points in Pittsburgh a couple of years ago. Grzelcyk can still skate and move the puck and should still find work in the NHL this season, though it may be on a tryout or two-way contract basis as Danton Heinen settled for in Columbus a few weeks ago to get in the fold there.
At the end of the day, it’s difficult to see the Bruins taking flyers on any of these players based on the signed incumbent players coming into camp next month, and a number of proven NHL players that will either need to be traded, or assigned to AHL Providence once the camp cuts start happening midway through September. But truthfully, there are quality NHL players still available that will be brought in on value contracts based on where they stand at this point in the summer.