The Boston Bruins are currently looking at a scenario where Charlie McAvoy and Andrew Peeke are their only right-shot defensemen with a spot locked down in the team's top six. They are currently in talks with Henri Jokiharju to return, but as of June 29, no deal has been finalized, and he will hit the open market on July 1. There are some names the Bruins could target in a trade, but if not, they will have to go looking at the free agent market.
Aaron Ekblad
The question you'd have to ask is why Aaron Ekblad would leave a team where he just made three consecutive Stanley Cup finals to join a team that he beat in two of those three runs. The easy answer is that the Florida Panthers aren't going to have enough salary cap space to keep Ekblad after they signed Sam Bennett and eventually sign Brad Marchand.
There are plenty of teams that are going to overpay for Ekblad, but would the Bruins have the stomach to enter into the bidding war? It'd form an elite defense core if they could do it, but the Bruins would be better off spending their limited salary cap space on more offensive firepower.
Dante Fabbro
If the Bruins don't want to spend too much on Ekblad, they could go the cheaper route and get Dante Fabbro on a long-term deal. Fabbro had some good seasons with the Nashville Predators, but he found a new lease on life after he joined the Columbus Blue Jackets this past season. The offensive defenseman was a big reason why the Jackets nearly rallied to a playoff spot, and recorded a new career high with 26 points in 62 games.
Fabbro's offensive upside could give the Bruins another look on their powerplay, and he is good enough defensively that he won't hurt you at all with the rest of the above-average defenders around him.
Brent Burns
If the Bruins want to punt a long-term decision down the road, they could always sign the 40-year-old Brent Burns. Burns doesn't have many years left in his career, but he hasn't missed a regular-season game in four years and is still in incredible shape. If the Bruins want to lock in a dependable veteran presence that could elevate them to the playoffs in the short term, Burns is the perfect choice.
Burns can also still be an offensive threat, as he is just two years removed from a 61-point season.