Status Quo for Bruins RFAs … Bruins hope Ritchie can take advantage of a change of scenery
Jon Lane of NHL.com: Contract negotiations are status quo with restricted free agents Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy according to Boston Bruins president Cam Neely.
The Bruins lost Marcus Johansson and Noel Acciari to free agency. The Bruins signed Brett Ritchie on July 1st and hope that change of scenery will do him good.
“Ritchie’s a kid we felt kind of plateaued a little bit, needed maybe a change a scenery and a new environment, maybe a different opportunity will hopefully get him back to the level …,” Sweeney said. “He’s a bigger body (6-foot-4, 220 pounds) that can get into the interior ice, but it will be incumbent upon him to take advantage of the situations put him in.”
Some remaining free agents that teams could be interested in
Jonathan Willis of The Athletic: Looking at some remaining free agents for each position that could still be useful additions.
Centers: Joe Thornton is expected to re-sign with the San Jose Sharks if he plays next season. He would be a nice addition for someone looking for a PP specialist and a depth forward.
Derick Brassard has bounced around and performance has dropped since the Ottawa Senators traded him.
Brian Boyle has some age concerns like Brassard. Had a better season on the PK last year.
Riley Sheahan is a defensive forward that can kill penalties.
Oscar Lindberg has showed he can play defensively in Vegas, and he bought a bit more offensive game in Ottawa.
Left wing free agents who are still available include Patrick Marleau, Patrick Maroon, Valeri Nichushkin, Tobias Rieder, Magnus Paajarvi, Dmitrij Jaskin,
The next tier of UFAs include Cody McLeod, Micheal Haley, Zac Rinaldo, Gabriel Bourque and Jamie McGinn.
Right wing options include Justin Williams, Thomas Vanek, Jason Pominville, Troy Brouwer, Drew Stafford, Devante Smith-Pelly and Stefan Noesen.
Left-handed defensemen include Jake Gardiner, Ben Hutton, Niklas Kronwall, Dion Phaneuf, David Schlemko, Andrew MacDonald, Joe Morrow and Fredrik Claesson.
Right-handed defensemen include Kevin Shattenkirk, Dan Girardi, Ben Lovejoy, Alex Petrovic and Adam McQuaid.
Goaltending options include Cam Ward and Chad Johnson.