As we inch closer to free agency beginning at noon on Tuesday, July 1, the Boston Bruins have many roster needs that general manager Don Sweeney needs to address. With about $12.8 million according to Puckpedia, after a slew of restricted free agent (RFA) signings. It should also be noted that teams can go 10% over the cap in the offseason; they just have to be cap compliant by opening night.
That is not a lot of cap space to make big moves, and in the end, the Bruins could just end up making minor moves for depth and look to address bigger needs through a trade at some point this summer. Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet wrote in his latest 32 Thoughts that one big-named free agent is down to three teams, with the Bruins being one of them.
NHL insider links Bruins to forward Brock Boeser in free agency
One need that Boston has is for a goal-scoring wing, and Brock Boeser would hit that mold. Friedman links the Bruins, San Jose Sharks, Winnipeg Jets, and Edmonton Oilers to him, but the question will be, does Boeser look for a short-term deal with a higher AAV, or a lengthy deal with a lower AAV? That actually would affect the Black and Gold.
Boeser scored 25 goals for the Vancouver Canucks this past season with 50 assists, proving that he is a forward who can contribute in a number of ways. He was picked 23rd overall by Vancouver in the 2015 Entry Draft, passed three times by Sweeney, and it appears that his time with the Canucks is up after not being happy the alst few years.
This is not the first time that the Bruins have been linked to Boeser in free agency, and one potential suitor, the Minnesota Wild, likely too themselves out of the running for him by acquiring Vladimir Tarasenko through a trade.