What could his contract look like?
Drew Stafford will likely make less than the $4.35 million he has made the past two years. His new deal would likely be a one-year deal to bridge the gap for young guys and add depth. If Ryan Spooner departs, that opens up opportunities for Stafford to return.
The Bruins have $10,468,332 in cap space, according to capfriendly.com, the majority of that will go to David Pastrnak. Pastrnak will command somewhere in the $5.5-7 million range per year, leaving the Bruins with not much space. Additionally, outside of Pastrnak, the Bruins don’t have many big time free agents to re-sign.
Some of the remaining money will go to Anders Bjork if he chooses to leave the University of Notre Dame. As well as Noel Acciari and maybe Joe Morrow. Ryan Spooner’s status is very much up in the air, as is Anders Bjork’s.
So then let’s say for example David Pastrnak signs a six-year, $36 million contract and is set to make $6 million in his first year, that leaves $4,468,332 for the remaining free agents. John-Michael Liles and Tim Schaller likely won’t be back and Acciari and Morrow won’t command much. Drew Stafford then signs a one-year contract worth $3 million. This could work depending on other players re-signed, players traded, bought out or sent to Providence.