Boston Bruins Free Agents: Who Stays, Who Goes?

Boston Bruins Free Agents: Who Stays, Who Goes?

the Boston Bruins have a number of unrestricted free agents to make decisions on let’s talk about who stays and who goes you’re locked on Bruins your daily podcast on the Boston Bruins part of the locked on podcast Network your team everyday what is up Bruins fans and welcome back to the locked on Boston Bruins podcast I’m your host Ian Claren and this is a Daily Show where we discuss all things spoked B today is Wednesday June 5th and I want to thank you so much for making lockd on Bruins part of your daily routine free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day and today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet visit fanduel.com lockon to get started and before we get started a quick reminder you can find the podcast on social media at locked NHL Bruins and you can find me my hockey thoughts dad jokes ATC McLaren I’m a lifelong Bruins fan been covering this team for various outlets for about 20 years now wrote about hockey full-time for five years for the score and have been hosting this podcast since 2019 a number of off seasons in Don Sweeney’s tenure in which he has had some decisions to make on unrestricted free agents of his own as well as trying to attract some others and the Bruins have quite a number to contend with this off season and we’re going to discuss who’s gonna stay who’s gonna walk and also a bit of a caveat to end the podcast today let’s talk about who goes first that’s probably the easiest place to start and you have to look at the back end to get a good idea of where the Bruins are kind of pretty well set now that comes with the opportunity to perhaps improve in the top four but when you look at the depth chart at the moment and what they deployed in the postseason their top six could be pretty set headed into the regular season you have Charlie McAvoy hampus Lindholm Brandon Carlo Andrew Peak who was acquired prior to the trade deadline and has two years left on his contract so he’s established as a a main stay for the Bruins you have Mason lorai who’s entering the final year of his entrylevel contract who proved himself more than worthy of a roster spot and then Parker Witherspoon who emerged as a very reliable option as well he’s only making 800 Grand next season among the unrestricted free agents you have Derek forbort Matt grizzli and Kevin shattenkirk all three of these players are 30 and above with grizzli being uh the youngest at 30 forbort 32 shaton Kirk 35 uh forbort you know he’s had some moments with the Bruins he’s kind of a divisive player among the fan base there’s that appreciate his heavy uh hitting penalty killing efficiency and there’s some who just see him as kind of uh a passenger and not super effective in today’s NHL uh for me and it’s already been reported uh by the fourth period before let’s just have a sidebar here when we’re talking about free agency trade rumors and the like I mentioned earlier that I worked for the score for uh five years and we would write up something as a report if it was corroborated by maybe a one of a handful of insiders you had your Bob McKenzie back then before he retired Darren dger Pier LeBron Elliot fredman uh Chris Johnston uh maybe Frank selli has jumped into that group as well he is the president of the hockey rers Association but there’s some more minor insiders that we would wait on to see again if it was picked up by somebody else so uh when I mention reports take certain things with a grain of salt unless it’s from like a major Insider and of course from the team itself or an agent at any rate the fourth period saying that Derek forbort is going to explore free agency I would expect Matt grizzli will be allow Ed to walk as well he did not play much in the postseason found himself on the outside looking in he has been a very good Bruin he didn’t quite turn into you know Tony Krug Tory Krug light as many expected played in only three playoff games had 11 points in 63 regular season games there was some promise there uh but at this stage in his career the Bruins I don’t think are going to be willing to even match what he was making at 36875 um allowing him to look at opportunities elsewhere Kevin shaten Kirk same kind of thing perhaps he could stick around he had a very manageable $1 million contract for the Bruins he was one of those value signings um but very possible that he could look elsewhere if he sees an opportunity to get closer to the Stanley Cup than he might in Boston maybe he’ll wait and see what the Bruins do in free agency before making a decision but I would expect all three of those guys to be allowed to walk in free agency now that’s not to say the Bruins won’t add at defense you can’t just go into the season with those six guys and then you know rely on some of these younger guys in the ah to step up in the event of injury they will be looking to add some depth at that position um certainly on the left side where you just have lindol uh laui and Witherspoon you probably want a bit more depth there down the right side they’re pretty set with McAvoy Carlo and Peak but you want to have some flexibility you want to have some insurance in the case of injury they probably will add uh a defenseman or two do they swing big and add someone who can step into the top four so as not to throw Mason lorai right into the fire although he certainly seems up to the task or do they add some more depth guys like a wood or spoon and see if they can get some value that remains to be seen But forbort grizzli shaton Kirk I anticipate that they will go um up front unrestricted free agents you have well Milan Lich we know he’s not coming back you have um Jake debrusk Danon Heinen Patrick maroon Jason Magna and James Van reik uh I would expect them to allow Jason Magna to hit unrestricted free agency um with some decisions to make on De Brusque hinen um maroon and Van rdik and of that group the most likely to go I think would be maroon I don’t know if they want to I mean there is an appetite to keep him around uh same with James Van rdik but it’s whether or not they can a land bigger fishes and if they have the space to accommodate those guys so um let’s talk about these guys more specific spefically here as the podcast continues it’s winner take all time in the NBA and the NHL and FanDuel is giving you a shot to bring home a big win of your own right now new customers get $150 in bonus Bets with any winning $5 bet that’s 50 bucks to bet on spreads money lines player props and more with any winning $5 bed so for example you visit FanDuel you go to the NBA page you see game one of the NBA files between our Boston Celtics and the Dallas Mavericks the over under is set at 24.5 put five bucks on either the over or the under you hit on that and you get $150 in bonus bets visit fanduel.com lockon to make every playoff shot count at FanDuel America’s number one Sportsbook thank you so much once again for making lock on Bruins part of your daily routine free and available on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube we are part of the locked on podcast Network your team every day while you’re on YouTube check out locked on sports today all the latest news opinions and Analysis from all over the locked on Universe uh available free on YouTube and the Amazon Fire TV channels app so we talked about some guys who are likely to go the three defenseman forbort grizzli shaton Kirk up front maybe some more difficult decisions to be made and let’s start with uh Jake debrusk now he’s a guy that if it were up to me I would say he stays uh but it’s all a matter of what his value is to the Bruins and what a team would be willing to pay him uh it seems as though the Bruins have drawn a bit of a Line in the Sand and he may be willing to test free agency and see if he can get more elsewhere now when it comes to uh his valuation uh Dom lisan of the athletic wrote this morning that he values or his model anyways values uh de Brusque at around 5.9 million per season and he says quote he’s a strong defensive player year over-year and the talent is there for him to be so much more offensively he just doesn’t show it consistently enough and the issue Dom continues is that de Brusque maybe just isn’t a driver on his own he can be a very strong secondary player showed as much whenever he was with Patrice Brer and Brad Marshon but offense was harder for him to create as a focal point that’s the kind of situation he needs to be in to thrive and he looks to be a very worthy asset with that potential in mind he is an elite in one area he does a lot of really of things really well creating chances through shots and passes foreing entering the Zone exiting the Zone he’s a genuine top six player even when he’s not scoring he’s still contributing with without the puck and that’s worthwhile his price tag of five or six million may cause some sticker shock but he should be worth it in the right situation he could be worth well above that he’s young for a free agent only 27 and he did lead the Bruins with five goals and 11 points during the playoffs um that’s all according to Dom LCI for me I’d be paying jig de brosque $6 million this season easy I’d go with that now if he’s pushing for 6.5 s that’s a bit more than what you’d prefer but for me if he would sign a long-term deal $6 million per season then I am very much into that and for me I think he should stay um perhaps he finds the grasses and Greener elsewhere maybe the Oilers are willing to pay him and he goes and plays with Conor McDavid and is turns into a Zack Heyman type kind of guy but look at him as an example the Leafs weren’t willing to pay him and he blew up elsewhere you don’t want that to happen so I say keep Jake debrusk Denton Heinen same thing and again there’s a report out there that the Bruins and Heinen have begun negotiating on a new contract and this is what Dom the athletic has to say about heinan still hard to believe that Heinen went all summer without receiving a contract last year he showed exactly how silly that was with a strong year in Boston earning 60% of the goals and chipping in 1.99 points per 60 uh 60% of the goals I’m not really sure that what that means but um some of that success came by way of earning ice next to David poshak but he can be trusted to play in the top six and hold his own he’s a solid third liner who should earn a contract much sooner this summer and he’s described as a guy with defensive upside a Savvy middle six ad that won’t break the bank they have him valued at around 3.6 million per season that’s probably a bit more than I would like to pay Danton Heinen for me Heinen should stay I’d prefer to pay him close closer to 2.5 million but he’s a guy for me that if I’m Don Sweeny I keep around because a you know that he’s able to contribute he was very patient last year waiting around for a deal and it paid off huge um again within reason I would keep him around it I would say the same thing perhaps for James Van reek he had pretty good value on won a$1 million contract last season uh chipping in 11 goals 27 assists for 38 points he played in 11 games in the playoffs one goal four assists for Five Points now he did yeah Trail off a little bit but that’s to be expected perhaps at his age and if you can sign him for around the same a million dollars he’s a good depth guy with some scoring punch to keep around he’s not the fastest guy in the world I know they want to uh prioritize speed so perhaps he is a guy that will go along with Pat maroon I mean I said it at the time if you’re prioritizing speed in the lineup then debrusk should be a guy you keep high in as well to a certain extent Maron van re DIY I changed my mind on both of those guys I would probably not keep them around now you like their leadership you like their veteran Savvy you like their experience but the Bruins need to get younger and faster and those guys don’t really fit the bill now there’s a couple of guys who do who are uh unrestricted free agents in the miners and that is Oscar steam he’s 26 uh Anthony Rashard 27 those guys are both unrestricted free agents as well Rashard had a bit of a taste up with the big Club three points in nine games Oscar Steen he had a decent stint as well with uh well he only had one goal in 34 games this past season with all forgiveness asked from Bruins fan Abby pomoy he’s probably a guy that you look to move on from he just hasn’t really cracked as a member of the Boston Bruins so who stays please keep Jake de Brusque Danton Heinen pretty much everybody else you can you can let go I would be tempted to keep Pat maroon around just because he became a fan favorite not an every night player perhaps he fills the role that you envisioned Lich filling when he was signed last summer obviously that did not work out um but he’s a guy that I would keep around perhaps as a you know a guy that can rotate in and out on the fourth line bring some uh energy some physicality some Swagger to the team uh he said remember he had the best experience of his career with this team despite winning Stanley Cups with other teams uh so yeah I don’t know we’ll see those are the guys that I would keep for sure de brusk hyen everybody else including Kyle ker who’s a goenda allow to walk now the last time the Bruins had significant cap space It was kind of hit and miss and we’ll discuss that here as the podcast continues all right beware too much cap space and having too much Freedom out there because back in 2021 Don Sweeney went on a bit of a spending spree in free agency with mixed results uh he gave Nick Felino a contract that paid him $3.8 million against the cap and even though he had a bounceback season in his second year still way overvalued there Eric Howa he gave a two-year $4.75 million deal I know there was a lot of people who at the time thought he Bel in the top six he drew comparisons to Charlie Coyle but to be able to flip him for Pavo zaka was the bigger win there Thomas noik was signed 1.75 million capit yeah fine Derek foror that’s when he signed his three million or three-year yeah $3 million salary cap hit deal questionable as well and then of course there was the four-year $20 million deal signed by lenus olar which was fantastic Don Sweeney at the moment has upwards of $21 million in projected cap space to work with this offseason yes they need to resign um Jeremy Swan that is the huge priority and that will take a good chunk of that cap space perhaps even up to a third of it you also have a decision make on a restrictor fre agent yeser bfist Brandon busy needs a new deal if he’s going to be the backup and uh all Mark is traded that would free up some cap space as well say you give Heinen two million to brusk six million Swan s million that’s 15 million of your available cap space so when I say I want to keep the Brusque that could come at the expense of um trading elsewhere and that’s where you get into uh the question of whether or not they should free up more cap space by trading lenus allar and all indications are they will at least entertain that idea so yes resigning to brusk and Heinen limits what you’re able to do in the open market but it’s kind of the devil you know against the unknown and uh uh we know that de Brusque is valuable with and without the puck if you can bring in a playmaker to play with him then you would get even more value out of him uh because perhaps you can get that more consistent offense out of a guy who has struggled to put up numbers night in and night out so sign de Brusque bring in a a center it’s kind of a win-win there or you allowed debrusk to walk and you invest that money in a center and a scoring Winger who’s perhaps more consistent than debrusk but maybe not as good of a two-way player some major decisions for donen and I just point back to that 2021 because he did hit on a couple uh lenus allmark certainly has been a fantastic addition at $5 million per season that’s arguably one of his best signings in fre agency but he does have some questionable signings on his record Felino bakus don’t get caught bringing in those veterans on longer deals when there’s plenty of younger guys available who could complement this core uh they need they need to add to the core not just complement the core right now your core guys are Marshon ptor AK uh makoy Swan perhaps lindol Carlo Coy zaka are like Fringe core guys it would be great to add like a franchise Center to that that’s the big thing that is missing and if not signing de Brusque allows you to get that although you could argue there is no franchise Center available this year we talked earlier this week about how dry cido will be available hopefully perhaps next summer um that’s where you would love to be able to pull in that’s the guy that you would want um yeah some big decisions for Don Sweeny because he’s not only thinking of this year but also looking to next year and what could be available on the open market in uh in 2025 and it it’s not just Leon dry who will be available you look at some of the free agents who could become available next summer you have Leon dry cdle moo ranin Sydney Crosby Mitch Marner uh Victor Hedman Brock besser Carter vagi uh next summer class is pretty pretty good Travis kkny uh John Tavaris Brad Marshon of course he will be taken care of uh Nikolai eers there’s some players who will hit the open market next summer that the Bruins might want to get in on so yeah it’s do you invest a ton this year do you leave yourself some flexibility for next year for today’s topic who stays I say debrusk Heinen everybody else maybe maroon everybody else uh given the opportunity to look elsewhere maybe Circle back if things don’t work out for them in free agency anyways that’s it for today’s episode my friends thank you so much for joining me please do subscribe if you have not already locked on Boston Bruins on your favorite podcast app and on YouTube We’re part of the locked on podcast Network your favorite team every single day take care friends [Music]

The Boston Bruins have a number of unrestricted free agents, with big decisions to make in terms of who to re-sign, who to let walk, and what cap space they want to leave open to attract players on July 1.

Locked on Boston Bruins host looks at the UFAs and determines who should stay (Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, maybe 1 more), and who can walk (everyone else).

Plus, a look back at the last time Don Sweeney had significant cap space to work with, how that can help him this time around and what he can learn from it.

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