Going into the offseason, the Boston Bruins had multiple needs on their roster, including a top-six center, a right-shot defenseman, and a top-six wing. They addressed the latter last Friday night by acquiring JJPeterka from the Utah Mammoth for a pair of first-round draft picks.
That leaves a top-six center and a right-shot defenseman as the biggest needs they had entering free agency. Earlier in the afternoon on Wednesday, the Bruins traded backup goalie Joonas Korpisalo to the New York Rangers to clear $3 million in cap space. It wouldn't be surprising to see more moves made, but there was an eye-opening one on defense, bringing back Connor Clifton.
Bruins make a decision to bring back defenseman Connor Clifton
When Clifton was in Boston, he was a fan favorite who played the game hard and the right way. However, he left in free agency in the summer of 2023 after being a big part of the Black and Gold's record-setting 2022-23 regular season. He played in 78 games with five goals and 18 assists with a plus/minus of plus-20.
He walked in free agency that summer and joined the Buffalo Sabres, and played two seasons in Western New York before being traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he spent this past season. The Pens let him walk in free agency, and he's returning to Boston on a two-year deal with an AAV of $2.5 million.
So what does this mean? Is this going to be the addition to the backend Boston is going to make rather than trade for Darnell Nurse or someone else? If this is the only move Sweeney makes, it'll be an underwhelming move, to say the least.
You have to think that there are going to be more moves coming at some point on defense. Boston going into training camp with this group on the backend wouldn't be good enough in front of Jeremy Swayman. We'll see what happens, but signing Clifton isn't going to move the needle much.
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