On Friday, the Boston Bruins announced that they signed Trent Frederic to a two-year contract that carries a $1.05 million cap hit. While the signing of Frederic made some Bruins fans happy, you have to wonder what the future holds for the 23-year-old first-round pick at No. 29 in the 2016 Entry Draft.
It's a Freddy Friday.
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 25, 2021
The #NHLBruins have signed Trent Frederic to a two-year deal with an annual NHL cap hit of $1.05 million.
Full Details: https://t.co/OKeHsDBnM5 pic.twitter.com/OEDqngtcAh
By signing Frederic, the Bruins now must decide if they are going to leave him unprotected in the upcoming Seattle Kracken Expansion Draft next month or protect him. If they leave him unprotected, what do the Kracken do?
Which Bruins young player would the Kracken want?
Frederic could be someone that Seattle looks at as a young tough forward who could come in and be a forward that can be an enforcer and hopefully down line produce offensively, something that Bruins general manager Don Sweeney thought on draft night in 2016 when he used a first-round pick on him.
There is a very good chance that the Black and Gold will leave defensemen Connor Clifton unprotected and the 26-year-old should gather a lot of interest from the Kracken. Why? Well, Clifton, last summer stepped in the Toronto playoff bubble and played well in eight games with a goal and two assists.
This season, the Bruins defense was hit hard by injuries and Clifton played more than Boston thought he might at the beginning of the season when he failed to make the roster out of training camp. He ended up playing in 44 of the 56 regular-season games with a goal and seven assists, but he also sported an impressive plus/minus of plus-10.
Clifton played in 10 of the Bruins 11 postseason games, but like most of his defensive teammates, he wore down as the playoffs went on, but that should not take away from the last year the 133rd pick of the 2013 Entry Draft by the Pheonix Coyotes has had.
The Kracken would like to build a young competitive roster for their first season in the NHL with some players with experience. If they want experience on defense, then Clifton might be a young blueliner they would take. If they’re looking for a tough young forward that could bring a physical game to the rink every night, then Frederic might be their guy. It will be interesting to see if one of these young players or any other is selected by the Kracken in July.