In the Eastern Conference, the Boston Bruins are ranked first. The Bruins had enough energy on the night following a 6-5 overtime victory against the Edmonton Oilers to capture a point in their 3-2 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames, despite Linus Ullmark not playing at his best on Thursday.
“I need to be prepared,” declared Ullmark (27 saves on 30 shots), who was unlucky to concede a goal off a rebound from Martin Pospisil in the last minute of the first. You have to depend a little more on your goalie to make some saves when there’s a back-to-back game. Do I wish there were more that I could make? Yes. I believe that.
Nonetheless, before the trade deadline on March 8, the East’s best players are lacking a few teeth.
To balance out Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, their primary need has always been an impact wing. Their left defense’s injuries—Hampus Lindholm is out for the week, and Matt Grzelcyk is questionable—are forcing blue-line reinforcement to the forefront.
Regarding the latter, the Bruins got a firsthand view of Scotiabank Saddledome from Norwood native Noah Hanifin, who led the club in ice time on Thursday with 24 minutes, 34 seconds. Hanifin is ranked No. 1 on The Athletic’s trade board. The roughly $20 million in cap space that Hanifin will enjoy in 2024–25 is the finest card for Bruins general manager Don Sweeney to play when making a move for him.
After this season, Grzelcyk, Jake DeBrusk, Derek Forbort, Kevin Shattenkirk, Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk, Danton Heinen, and Anthony Richard are the eight players who are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. Additionally, the Bruins will not be required to pay the $4.5 million overage penalty that was due this year due to the 2022–23 bonuses received by David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron.
$19,796,500 is the total cap clearance.
Not all of it will be accessible for Sweeney to spend. The player who the Bruins would most like to see return is DeBrusk, one of the eight players who will be UFAs. In addition, Sweeney needs to budget for the rise brought about by Jeremy Swayman, whose $3.475 million, one-year arbitration award will need to be renewed.
That is still a lot of free money to convince a potential trade target, such as Hanifin, to sign a contract extension rather than exercise his right to free agency on July 1. Not every club will have the same quantity of dough hanging around. Teams are less willing to give up a large number of assets without the ability to raise cap space in the future, turning a rental into a long-term keeper.
The tricky part is that a lot of work needs to be done long before an acquisition is finalized.
Sweeney would need to present a strong enough argument to Craig Conroy, the Flames counterpart, in Hanifin’s instance to convince him to send the 27-year-old home. That won’t be simple. In 2024, Sweeney would have to use alternative assets, such Matt Poitras, Fabian Lysell, or Mason Lohrei, as he would not have any picks in Rounds 1, 2, or 3.
In exchange for Lindholm in 2022, Sweeney was not hesitant to transfer several selections and blue-line prospect Urho Vaakanainen to Anaheim. Sweeney inked the prospective UFA to an eight-year, $52 million contract one day after acquiring Lindholm.
Conroy would require assistance fitting Hanifin’s $4.95 million average yearly worth onto their books, even if Sweeney’s offer is sufficient to capture his attention. Retention of salary would be necessary. The Bruins may even require a different squad to take up a portion of Hanifin’s remaining AAV. The limitless freedom of tomorrow doesn’t make now any less constricted.
Think about how little cap oxygen the Bruins have right now. With three games left in their Western tour, the Bruins needed another defenseman as insurance after Grzelcyk hobbled off against the Oilers in the first period. The Bruins had to send Justin Brazeau to Providence in order to bring Ian Mitchell up from there and stay within the cap.
Brazeau wasn’t deserving of the task.
In his first two NHL games, the No. 4 right wing, who signed his two-year, $1.55 million entry-level deal on Monday, had fulfilled the request. In his NHL debut, Brazeau scored a goal against the Dallas Stars. Against the Oilers, he added three more pucks to the net.
However, Jakub Lauko was an extra forward for the Bruins. Consequently, Brazeau opted to sit in the Saddledome press box on Thursday rather than making his third consecutive appearance. It’s unclear when he plans to return to the varsity. The Bruins cannot afford to carry even the rookie’s $775,000 AAV.
The fact that Richard is also making the league minimum is good for the Bruins in that regard. Richard has made seven consecutive appearances since being called up from Providence on February 8. It’s possible that the left-shot speedster’s most recent performance was his best.
Richard placed the puck in the slot during the third period, following Andrei Kuzmenko’s effort to wraparound that went wide of the net. Charlie Coyle was blowing the zone, as he saw. Richard turned the puck off the glass in the direction he believed Coyle would go. With the puck in his hands, Coyle sprinted in on Jacob Markstrom and backhanded the game-winning goal past the Calgary goalie.
Coach Jim Montgomery stated of the play, “He makes a smart play, puts it to an area.” He ensures that we are playing directly, heading north, and managing the game. Just his stubbornness with pucks. Another guy, who I initially believed to be exhausted, later proved to have legs.
Last season, the 27-year-old Richard made 13 appearances for the Montreal Canadiens. This season is distinct. He is more self-assured and bold enough to use his quickness and persistence. Montgomery had enough faith in Richard to put him on the ice for the last regulation change.
Regarding his time in Montreal, Richard remarked, “It was more of a fourth-line role.” “You attempt to provide vigor. You don’t really touch the puck, though. It’s more important to strive to generate energy and finish your hit. Here, it’s more about us having the puck and using it to play. Therefore, it is undoubtedly easier for a man like myself to play with the puck and have confidence. You begin to have a little more faith in yourself when you start every game.
Richard is providing the Bruins with good value together with fellow minimum-wage earners Heinen and Jesper Boqvist. It is unclear if significant reinforcements are on their way.
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