5 Boston Bruins who are as good as gone this summer

Monday night, an epic Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers will take place in South Florida. Once in command of the series and one win away from lifting the Cup with a 3-0 series lead, Florida is now looking to avoid one of the biggest collapses in sports history with a second straight loss at home.

After tonight, all eyes around the NHL will switch to the off-season with the NHL Draft later this week in Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday and then free agency begins on July 1. This is going to be a very important upcoming free agency for Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney who has a lot of cap space available, but also in terms of retaining any of his free agents while adding from the outside as well.

Boston has a handful of key free agents this summer, but not all can be retained. Here are five pending unrestricted free agents that are all but gone from the Black and Gold and will find a new home for the 2024-25 season.

Kevin Shattenkirk

Believe it or not, this was an under-the-radar signing last summer by Sweeney. Looking for short-term veterans on defense, Boston took a flyer on Kevin Shattenkirk, and the former Boston University blueliner signed for one year and $1.05 million, it was a bargain for what he brought to the team.

In 61 games, he had six goals and 18 assists and at times during the season, he filled in on the power play units with a pair of goals and nine assists, recording over half his points on the man-advantage. He logged just under 16 minutes a night in 61 regular season games, but in the bigger picture, the Bruins appear to be set with their returning defensive unit and there is no room for the former Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020.