Breaking down the Bruins current salary cap numbers in July 2024
What does the Boston Bruins' salary cap situation currently look like after 10 days of free agency?
Following the second-round elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers in May, Boston Bruins GM Don Sweeney met with the media a few days later and said that he was going to be aggressive once free agency began on July 1. Boston's GM entered free agency with around $23 million at his disposal with plenty of needs for his roster to keep them competitive and a Stanley Cup contender.
It didn't take long for Sweeney to be true to his word as he signed former Vancouver Canucks teammates Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to fill holes at center and on the left side of the Black and Gold's defense respectively. Following those signings and some cheap depth contracts, he has $8.636 million remaining, but we all know where most of, if not all of it, is going to go.
Bruins will prioritize Jeremy Swayman's contract before anything else
It's well-documented that goalie Jeremy Swayman needs a new contract and most of the remaining cap space will go to lock up the Bruins' future goalie. Both Swayman and Boston did not file for arbitration, which they did last season, which is hopefully a good sign that they are closing in on a deal at some point. This is a crucial signing after Linus Ullmark was traded to the Ottawa Senators last month.
With very little cap space remaining, Sweeney was not able to address the need for a scoring wing in free agency that was opened up after Jake DeBrusk signed with Vancouver. Instead of signing a free agent, it appears that Boston will enter camp in September with youngsters Fabian Lysell and Georgii Merkulov fighting it out for a wing spot. Both are on cheap AVV deals which would fit under the cap, depending on what Swayman's final numbers are.
Swayman is the franchise goaltender that you need to solidify your net and giving him the money that puts him up there with the other top goalies around the league is necessary or you risk losing him one way or another. If Lysell, Merkulov, or someone else can fill that wing spot on a team-friendly deal, it will be huge for Sweeney and the Bruins going into 2024-25.
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