When it comes to decisions this off-season, there will be a number of them that the front office will be facing. Regarding restricted free agents, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney will let some walk as he can’t retain all of them. Which ones should they look to retain?
There are some obvious ones with Morgan Geekie and Mason Lohrei, but after that, there are questions as to which ones to keep. Two summers ago, the Bruins benefited from the Seattle Kraken not offering Geekie, allowing him to become an unrestricted free agent (UFA), and Sweeney swooped in and signed him. The results speak for themselves. Here are three RFAs the Bruins should let walk this summer and cut ties with.
Ian Mitchell
With injuries piled up on the blueline, the Bruins' defense has seen its fair share of players rotate in and out of the lineup. He has played just over a dozen games, but in those games, he has not made the case to stick around. If he does, it would likely be with the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Acquired two summers ago from the Chicago Blackhawks in a trade that sent Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Windy City, Mitchell has arbitration rights this summer, which could make things dicey in terms of cap room. It’s just best to let him walk.
Jakub Lauko
It is a nice story, Jakub Lauko, a fan favorite, coming back to Boston in the Justin Brazeau deal. He plays with a lot of energy, he isn’t afraid to muck things up and can be a pest for other teams with his style of play. Other than that, do the Bruins see him as part of the future?
It feels like if the front office sees that a younger player is ready to make the roster next year (Fabian Lysell, Georgii Merkulov, or anyone else), then that would make Lauko a player that they should let move on.
John Beecher
This will be one of the tougher decisions that the front office has to make. Since signing and playing in the bottom-six, primarily on the fourth-line, John Beecher brings different things to the table for the Bruins. His speed can create problems for teams, he is good at the face-off dot and he is a productive penalty killer.
The question is whether Boston will extend the 2019 first-round pick, who is in his third season since signing out of the University of Michigan. Right now, up the middle, the Bruins have Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm locked up, but where they go after that remains to be seen. You can make the case that Beecher has been somewhat of a disappointment and an inconsistent player, so moving on from him is certainly not out of the question.