Free agency begins in six days on July 1, and Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has a lot of work to do with not only his own free agents but also free agents from other teams that hit the open market.
On Wednesday, before heading to the NHL Entry Draft in Los Angeles beginning on Friday night, where the Black and Gold currently have the seventh overall pick, Sweeney met with the media and touched on a number of topics. Free agency, the draft, and even Brad Marchand winning the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers. He gave an update on two key free agents and where they stand.
Bruins GM Don Sweeney gives update on two pending free agents
The biggest free agent the Bruins have that needs to be retained is forward Morgan Geekie, who had a career year that nobody saw coming. A restricted free agent (RFA), Geekie wants to return to Boston, and Sweeney wants him back. However, there has yet to be a deal that has been struck.
"There's been constant communication,'' Sweeney said. "Are we on the doorstep? I don't think so, but things can change within one phone call. Again, you get in around this time frame, and sometimes you're tracking on a deal, and you get it done right away, and other times you get sort of pushed to the back burner as to do what everybody else is maybe focused on. I'm not concerned about it.''
Well, that doesn't mean Bruins fans can't be concerned. As an RFA, Geekie is arbitration eligible, and if there's one thing we've learned during Sweeney's tenure as GM, he's not afraid to go to arbitration, and sometimes it can damage relationships.
"I mean, arbitration is possible for both sides,'' said Sweeney. At the end of the day, we're going to find a deal, as I said before, whether it's one (year) or much, much longer. We have zero issues with the fact that we're going to find a deal at some point in time.''
By now, you know that the Bruins need help with a center, a wing, and a defenseman. The right side of the defense is a huge need, despite Boston being linked to Ryan Lindgren, who is a left-shot. At the trade deadline, Sweeney acquired Henri Jokiharju from the Buffalo Sabres, and believe it or not, Nikita Zadorov played better with him as a partner. Jokiharju is a free agent on July 1.
“We have a need on the right side, no doubt about that,'' said Sweeney.
That's an understatement, for sure. Yes, there is a huge need on the right side, and bringing back Jokiharju makes sense, as does adding through free agency for a trade.