Keys to the offseason for the Boston Bruins
Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Looking at the keys to the offseason for the Boston Bruins.
Projected 2022-23 cap space: $5,370,834
2022 draft picks: 2nd, 3rd (CGY), 4th, 6th, 7th (OTT), 7th
The future of the 36-year-old pending UFA center Patrice Bergeron will need to be settled. Will he want to play another year? It seems unlikely that he would play for a different team.
Will the Bruins finally grant Jake DeBrusk his trade request and move him this offseason?
GM Don Sweeney will need to find a way to bring more scoring to his lineup.
Top offseason priorities for the Bruins
Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic: A look at the top priorities for the Boston Bruins this offseason.
1. Get an answer on Bergeron’s future – It’s purely up to Patrice Bergeron if he’s back next season with the Bruins.
2. Regardless of Bergeron’s decision, reinforce the center position – Pending UFAs who might interest the Bruins include Vincent Trocheck, Nazem Kadri, Andrew Copp and Max Domi. The Bruins will need to decide if it’s time to trade center Jack Studnicka or not.
3. Determine whether Pastrnak wants to re-sign or hit the 2023 market – He could get a bigger seven-year deal on the open market. Can the Bruins lock him up for eight years?
4. Make a decision on DeBrusk’s trade request – Replacing what DeBrusk brings to the table wouldn’t be easy.
5. Trade a left-shot defenseman – Matt Grzelcyk has more trade value than Mike Reilly and Derek Forbort. He carries a $3,687,500 cap hit through 2023-24. If they keep Grazelcyk, Reilly and his $3 million cap through 2023-24 could be moved.
6. Gauge trade interest in Haula, Clifton, Smith, Nosek and Foligno – All have one year left on their deals and are unlikely to be back after that.
7. Part ways with unrestricted free agents – Curtis Lazar, Anton Blidh and Josh Brown.
8. See if there’s a path toward acquiring a 2022 first-round pick – Wouldn’t be cheap to get back into the first round.