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Unpacking the Bruins busy day |
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Day one of NHL free agency provided a lot of answers for the Bruins plans in 2021-22, but also left some questions unanswered.
It was a day that saw the Bruins sign nine new faces, officially re-sign Mike Reilly and trade Daniel Vladar in the process.
Linus Ullmark, G, four-years $5 million per
The feeling for weeks now was the Bruins would seek a veteran netminder to split time with Jeremy Swayman, with Linus Ullmark developing as a leading candidate over the last few days.
The contract of four years and $20 million certainly came as a surprise.
“Linus is healthy, and excited to be a Boston Bruin, said general manager Don Sweeney. “Fortunate to have the opportunity to bring a goaltender at a primary age with experience.”.
Ullmark provides the Bruins with experience behind Swayman, and should be enough to get the Bruins to January or February when Tuukka Rask is expected to return. Of course, Rask is currently a free agent and would need a new contract.
“I think we’ve always left the door open for Tuukka to return, and I think it just allows Jeremy to continue to progress at a natural rate, but also give him the opportunity to be at the NHL level,” said Sweeney.
The 27-year old has spent all six of his professional seasons in Buffalo with the Sabres, coming off a season where he finished with a 2.63 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage behind a terrible Sabres team.
“Ever since we started the whole process, it felt right,” said Ullmark. “The longer the day went by, it just felt better and better. Very excited about what is to come.”
Daniel Vladar traded to Calgary for a 2022 third-round pick
With Daniel Vladar needing to clear waivers before being sent down to the AHL, and Swayman and Ullmark ahead of him on the depth chart, it was a move that made sense for the Bruins.
“We gave Daniel [Vladar] an opportunity to go to Calgary and establish some stuff there. They were excited to have him,” said Sweeney.
“It was a little bit of a musical chairs shuffle, but for all the right reasons we just felt we’ve had very strong goaltending. We want to continue to have that, and it was a unique opportunity to explore having Linus join our group and we’re excited about that.”
Nick Foligno, F, two-years $3.8 million per
In one of several signings to bolster their forward depth, the addition of the veteran Nick Foligno was the Bruins biggest addition of the day.
“It might not look on the surface that Nick Foligno was a fit for our group, but I believe he is, and he did as well, which is most important in that sense because he’s got a lot of opportunity,” said Sweeney. “He comes in as a leader, he plays three positions, he brings an edge to his game, and he wants to win.”
As Sweeney alluded to, Foligno can play either wing or down the middle, and can fit in anywhere inside the middle six.
"It’s going to be a work in progress. Which I’m very comfortable with. I feel like I’ve worked hard at being a versatile player,” said Foligno. “I’m here to help this group. They want to win. They know how to win. And I want to be a part of something like that. So, I’m really looking forward to it.”
Foligno already has a connection to Boston as in 2013 and 2018 his now seven-year old daughter had heart surgery at Boston’s Children’s hospital.
“A big thank you to Boston Children’s and obviously, Nationwide Children’s in Columbus for allowing us to have a healthy daughter,” he said. “But Boston has a very special place in our heart because of that. I think it was – my wife said, serendipitous in a way, of coming back to a place that gave us a chance to be a family in the first place.”
Foligno had a few offers on the table, but a phone call from Patrice Bergeron swayed his decision in the Bruins favor.
“Just being able to speak to Patrice and kind of pick his brain a little bit before. How excited they would be to have me join. That excites you as a player,” said Foligno. “I think it’s one thing to hear it from a GM or a coach, but when you can get a teammate lobbying to try and get you on their team, especially somebody with his respect in the league and the way he plays, it meant a lot to me and carried a lot of weight.”
Erik Haula, F, two-years, $2.375 million per & Tomas Nosek, F, two-years, $1.75 million per
Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek come to Boston and provide the Bruins with an immediate upgrade in their bottom-six.
“Both those guys have moved up the lineup and complemented those groups. They can play with better players, they can play down with their lines and drive their lines,” said Sweeney. “They’re smart players, they’ll be able to adapt to that and provide balance to our group and support the younger players.”
Haula spent last season with the Predators in Nashville, scoring nine times and adding 12 assists in 56 games. He’s spent time with the Florida Panthers, Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights and Minnesota Wild where he spent time on a line with Charlie Coyle.
Nosek is a heavy forward who loves to throw the body around. Playing primarily in a fourth line role for Vegas last season, he produced well offensively with eight goals and 18 points in 38 games.
“Tomas did a hell of a job in the playoffs last year, going in and playing a lot more on line three with Vegas,” said Sweeney. “He arrives on time and that’s probably the combination of the hockey sense and north-south attitude. That’s important as well.”
Derek Forbort, D, three-years $3 million per
The lone addition to the Bruins blueline, Forbort adds some much needed size and grit to the left side of the Bruins d-core, replacing Jeremy Lazuon who was lost to Seattle in the expansion draft.
“He’s played extended minutes, he’s healthier. He had a rebound year from not being healthy the previous season — went in and played a much-elevated role. Primary penalty killer, which is also important,” said Sweeney.
“Derek was excited in thinking about playing with a couple different partners we have in Charlie [McAvoy] and Brandon [Carlo] from penalty killing to elevated minutes in a shutdown role, and we’re going to need him to do that.”
Forbort is a shot blocking machine, blocking 115 shots last season, fifth most in all of the NHL.
As Sweeney mentioned, Forbort can play up and down the lineup, depending on matchups and game situations. He’ll also see a heavy workload on the penalty kill.
David Krejci? Jake DeBrusk? What’s next?
With the Bruins moves on Wednesday, they’re left with a little over $1 million in cap space. While indications from around the league is that Krejci will be back with the Bruins next season, Sweeney sang a different tune.
“David and I have communicated pretty consistently over the last little while. Nothing has changed on that front,” said Sweeney. “He has his own reasons and he’s going to keep those private, as I am in terms of what his timeline is.”
The moves the Bruins made today certainly help them transition to the post Krejci era should that be the next step, but a return of Krejci would make what the Bruins did today more legitimate.
If the Bruins are to bring Krejci back, they’ll need to move cap space out and that’s where DeBrusk enters the picture.
The Bruins bolstering their bottom-six on Wednesday does not bode well for DeBrusk who continues to battle with consistency. Still at 24-years old, DeBrusk remains a valuable trade chip and could be the key to freeing up the space the Bruins need for Krejci.
“You never know when you may or may not explore trade opportunities,” said Sweeney. “We signed each and every one of these players with the intention that they’re a part of our club and to have a very deep hockey team. We have a couple young players as well that are going to be integrated in there.”
The Bruins also announced the signings of Troy Grosenick, Samuel Asselin, Steven Fogarty and Tyler Lewington.
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