Boston Bruins: It has been a quiet first month of free agency for Don Sweeney
By Scott Roche
A month into free agency, the Boston Bruins have been relatively quiet.
It has been a month since the NHL free agency bonanza began. While there have been some big names moving to different teams, the Boston Bruins have been relatively quiet to date.
The Bruins lost defensemen Torey Krug to the St. Louis Blues, while bottom-six forward Joakim Nordstrom also left and is headed to the Calgary Flames in free agency. General manager Don Sweeney has made a couple of free-agent signings, but nothing that is going to shift the balance of power.
The biggest signing that Sweeney has made to date has been inking forward Craig Smith to a three-year, $9.3 million deal. This has the opportunity to be a sneaky good signing. Smith has been a 20-goal scorer in five of his nine seasons with the Nashville Predators.
The Bruins also avoided arbitration with defensemen Matt Grzelcyk and agreed to a four-year, $14.75 million contract with the 26-year old. Also brought back was Kevan Miller who has not played in an NHL game since April of 2019 after suffering a knee injury.
Forwards Zach Senyshyn and Karson Kuhlman, along with defensemen Jakub Zboril all singed short-term deals for depth in the organization. Second-line left wing Jake DeBrusk remains an unsigned restricted free agent. The Bruins could use him to return next season.
The Bruins have passed on adding goal-scoring forward Tyler Toffoli who signed with the rival Montreal Canadiens and Taylor Hall who surprised a lot of people by signing a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres. Free-agent forwards Mike Hoffman and Mikael Granlund are still available.
On defense, Sami Vananten is a veteran free agent that would add experience to the Bruins blue line if current free agent captain Zdeno Chara decides not to return for a 15th season with the Black and Gold.
There is still plenty of work that still needs to be done with the roster a month into free agency. Whether it is signing more free agents, re-signing DeBrusk and/or Chara, or getting help through the trade market. If the opportunity rises to add through a trade, Sweeney has to listen and see what a possible return would be.
Next. NHL exploring options for a 2020-21 regular season. dark
It has been a relativity quiet first month of transactions for the Bruins as they look toward 2020-21. The roster as it stands now will not look the same when the puck is dropped on next season, but outside help would benefit the Bruins in keeping pace with Atlantic Division rival and defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning.