Welcome to The Hockey Writers’ first-ever Boston Bruins Monthly column. During this series, I will recap the biggest Bruins events that occurred in each month of the year and provide commentary about them.
In this first edition of the series, we will be focusing on July 2023. It was an eventful month for the Bruins that saw the Original Six club go through massive changes. Let’s discuss some of the most important events of the month now.
Bruins Lose Several Players In Free Agency
As expected, the Bruins lost several players in free agency. They simply did not have the cap space to bring back any of their notable free agents, and their roster is immensely different because of it. Tyler Bertuzzi (Toronto Maple Leafs), Dmitry Orlov (Carolina Hurricanes), Connor Clifton (Buffalo Sabres), Garnet Hathaway (Philadelphia Flyers), Tomas Nosek (New Jersey Devils), Mike Reilly (Florida Panthers), and Chris Wagner (Colorado Avalanche) are among the most notable departures. All of this came after Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno were traded to the Chicago Blackhawks back in June.
Bruins general manager (GM) Don Sweeney warned that the Bruins’ 65-win roster would see a massive overhaul due to their limited cap space, and that came to fruition. It makes their gutting first-round loss to the Florida Panthers even worse, as the Bruins’ roster has lost a significant amount of firepower. The Eastern Conference also got stronger this summer, so could the Bruins miss out on the playoffs next spring? It looks quite possible, but people also said that last season and look what happened.
Bruins Bring In Array of New Players
With the Bruins losing so many key players this summer, Sweeney needed to be active in free agency. Their limited cap space made it impossible for them to make any huge splashes, but Sweeney did well given the situation he was in. They added James van Riemsdyk (one-year, $1 million contract), Kevin Shattenkirk (one-year, $1.05 million contract), Morgan Geekie (two-year, $4 million contract), Patrick Brown (two-year, $1.6 million contract), Jesper Boqvist (one-year, $775,00 contract) and Milan Lucic (one-year, $1.5 million deal). They also signed depth players Anthony Richard, Jayson Megna, and Parker Wotherspoon to two-way deals.
Overall, the Bruins did a decent job given their situation. van Riemsdyk is still a solid middle-six scorer who could benefit from playing with the Bruins’ star on their power play. Shattenkirk has the potential to provide offense from the point and comes with immense experience. Geekie, 24, is a young center with plenty of upside who is expected to have a bigger role given Boston’s weak center depth. Brown will give the Bruins far more grit and is a clear candidate for the 4C spot because of his effective faceoff ability. Boqvist is another young forward with the potential to improve. Lucic, of course, may not be the dominant top-six power forward he was during his initial stint as a Bruin, but the fan favorite will give the Bruins more toughness and leadership.
Bruins Re-Sign Several Restricted Free Agents
The Bruins also re-signed most of their restricted free agents (RFA) this summer. Recent trade acquisitions Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, and Reilly Walsh were each signed to a one-year, $775,000 contract (two-way). Michael DiPietro, Kyle Keyser, and Marc McLaughlin were also each given a one-year, $775,000 contract (two-way). Jakub Lauko signed a two-year, $1.575 million deal, while Luke Toporowski earned himself an entry-level contract (two-year, $1.9 million deal) after his strong play with the Provide Bruins this fall.
With these moves, the Bruins have kept around some of their key depth players. Players like Lauko, Mitchell, and McLaughlin will likely be competing for NHL spots at camp, while the other RFA signings should be key contributors for Providence starting this fall.
Bruins Legend Patrice Bergeron Retires
Perhaps the most heartbreaking Bruins story of July was Patrice Bergeron announcing his retirement. The 38-year-old called it a career last Tuesday (July 25), and it is news that is still hard for Bruins fans to process. Yet, it is entirely understandable that he is ready for the next chapter of his life, as he spent 19 hard-fought years as a Bruin, cementing himself as one of the franchise’s best all-around players in the process.
Bergeron’s final season with the Bruins was also quite impressive, as he posted 27 goals, 58 points, and a plus-35 rating. This was good enough for him to win his NHL-record sixth Selke Trophy. After a year like this, the Bruins were hoping that the future Hall of Famer would come back, but now they enter the new year with serious questions down the middle.
Bergeron’s NHL career was simply magnificent. Besides winning the Selke Trophy six times, the 2003 second-round pick won the Stanley Cup (2011), King Clancy Memorial Trophy (2013), NHL Player Foundation Award (2014), Mark Messier Leadership Award (2021), and was a three-time All-Star. The Bruins may never have another leader like Bergeron, and here’s to hoping that he has the happiest of retirements.
Bruins & Swayman Have Arbitration Hearing
The Bruins’ July ended with a Jeremy Swayman arbitration hearing. At the time of this writing, an award has not been announced for the 24-year-old netminder. Swayman filed for $4.8 million, while the Bruins filed for $2 million. Needless to say, the Bruins and Swayman were far apart in their asking prices.
The Bruins’ salary cap trouble is the primary reason for Sweeney putting down such a low offer. Meanwhile, Swayman’s high asking price was made to help his chances of landing the best deal possible. This could be a scenario where the arbitrator meets the team and the player down the middle.
In 37 games this past season, Swayman had a 24-6-4 record, a 2.27 goals-against average (GAA), and a .920 save percentage (SV%). It was another strong season from Swayman, and he added the William M. Jennings Trophy to his resume.
Nevertheless, July was certainly an eventful month for the Bruins. They suffered plenty of losses, none greater than Bergeron, but now they are set to enter the next chapter of their franchise’s history in 2023-24. As for August, it should also be an interesting month, as Swayman and Frederic will land their new deals. We will need to wait and see all that happens during this new month from here.
