Bruins Salary Cap Options

Author: Nick Knowles

Introduction

The greatest regular season team, in terms of points, lost in game 7 of the first round versus the Florida Panthers. The worst part, the Bruins had a 3-1 series lead, and they had the opportunity to win the series in game 5 in the OT period, game 6 with a one-goal lead with less than ten minutes to go, and game 7 with a one-goal lead with one minute to go and the OT period. To put it lightly, the Bruins sank further than the famous ship, the Edmund Fitzgerald (RIP Gordon Lightfoot). I will say, I do take some ownership for the loss as a fan because, after the game 5 loss, the first song I heard the next day was “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.” From there, I had a bad feeling that we would lose the next two games. Anyways, the Bruins went all-in this season with the contracts that captain Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci signed and the trade deadline acquisitions that they brought in. These two events, including the near doubling of David Pastrnak’s cap hit from his contract extension, have put the Bruins in an interesting spot for the 2023-24 NHL season. Moves are on the way as the Bruins try to retain a competitive team. 

Note: all contracts and simulations were performed on CapFriendly. 

The Situation

ROSTER SIZE	SALARY CAP	CAP HIT	OVERAGES	BONUSES	CAP SPACE
15	$83,500,000	$78,562,500	$4,500,000	$0	$4,937,500

Draft Capital

Note: The 2023 first-round pick, the 2024 third-round pick, and the 2025 second-round pick were traded to Washington for Dmitry Orlov and Garnett Hathaway. Also, the 2024 first-round pick (top 10 protected) was traded to Detroit for Tyler Bertuzzi. Finally, the 2023 and 2024 second-round picks were traded for Hampus Lindholm last year. Those are the Bruins’ deals involving their top three picks for the next three years. 

How can we move money to create cap space?

Cap space can be moved via a contract buyout or a trade. Next, I will discuss players I believe can be moved due to cap-related reasons. All moves are purely speculation.

Potential Buyouts

Mike Reilly – did not play for the Bruins due to cap space-related reasons this year. I do not see them keeping him or being able to easily trade him. The most likely way of dumping his contract is through the buyout. 

Derek Forbort – although a solid third-pairing defenseman, the Bruins cannot afford the luxury of paying him $3 million. Forbort is more likely to be able to be traded than Reilly, but if teams sense that the Bruins are dumping his contract, they might let them do it and try to sign him for no cost. 

Jakob Zboril – he was on the Bruins roster but did not play much last year. His buyout really depends on whether the Bruins feel like he is a top 6 defenseman. If they like him, they could keep him because he is on a serviceable contract for a third-pairing defenseman. If they believe they can do better in that area, they might opt to dump him via a buyout.  

Potential Players Available

Three Buyouts above – obviously if a trade is available, make that before buying them out because buyouts have an effect for this year and the next. 

Taylor Hall – at $6 million for a third-line LW, Hall was a luxury. Now, he will have to be a 2nd line LW which is where his skill set belongs. The only issue is that the Bruins might prefer to keep Tyler Bertuzzi over him because of the growing chemistry between Pastrnak and Bertuzzi. I only see the Bruins trading Taylor Hall if Tyler Bertuzzi is signing a deal with the Bruins. That would be interesting if the Bruins traded Hall and did not bring back Bertuzzi. 

Matt Grzelcyk - became the odd man out of the Bruins defenseman rotation once they acquired Dmitry Orlov. Also, with the Bruins opting to play Derek Forbort for most of the playoffs over Grzelcyk, is it time for the Bruins to move on from the player? The Bruins benching him in the playoffs makes me think he is at least being shopped. 

Unlikely to be traded, but don’t rule them out

Linus Ullmark – although every Bruins fan seems to want to trade the potential Vezina-winning goalie, I do not see the Bruins messing with the Ullmark-Swayman duo unless they are forced to. Unfortunately, they might be forced to. In this case, I would trade Ullmark before Swayman because Ullmark only has 2 years remaining on his deal, and Swayman is younger, and he can sign a long-term deal this summer as an RFA. 

Brandon Carlo – another guy that Bruins fans love trading in their mock trades. I think Carlo at 4 more years at $4.1 million per year is good for a solid right-shot defensive defenseman. Also, Carlo seems to be a member of the new up-and-coming leadership group that the Bruins are building. I do not see the Bruins trading Carlo unless it involved a top center in a blockbuster which is very unlikely with their lack of draft capital. 

Jake DeBrusk – he won’t be traded just yet. With one year remaining, the Bruins probably want to get a contract extension done as DeBrusk has been a good player for them. The only way I see DeBrusk being traded is mid-season with a Bruins team that is not fighting for the playoffs, plus a contract negotiation hiccup. 

Charlie Coyle – with uncertainty at the center position, it is not a good idea to trade the one true center that you have. Yes, Zacha can play center, but he played as a winger for most of the last season. Charlie Coyle at least is a true center. 

Untouchable/Unrealistic

Brad Marchand – Unless of a collapse this season, Marchand will probably not be traded.

David Pastrnak – just signed an extension.

Pavel Zacha – just signed an extension.

Charlie McAvoy – a top 10 defenseman in the league, the potential future captain of the team, and his contract is relatively new. Very interesting note, his NMC doesn’t start until next year. 

Hampus Lindholm – NMC and it would be bad business to trade him this quickly after his 8-year extension. 

Buyout Detail

Mike Reilly Buyout:

• Yes: Cap Savings (2023=$2,666,666, 2024=-$1,333,333)

• No: Cap Hit (2023=$3,000,000, 2024=UFA)

• Trade: Cap Savings 2023 = $3,000,000

Derek Forbort Buyout:

• Yes: Cap Savings (2023=$2,333,333 | 2024=-1,166,667)

• No: Cap Hit (2023=$3,000,000 | 2024=UFA)

• Trade: Cap Saving 2023 = $3,000,000

Jakob Zboril Buyout:

• Yes: Cap Savings (2023=$866,666 | 2024=-433,334)

• No: Cap Hit (2023=$1,137,500 | 2024=UFA)

• Trade: Cap Saving 2023 = $1,137,500

Trades (Note: All trades assume that no cap hit is coming back in return)

Taylor Hall trade: Note (has a M-NTC)

• Yes: Cap Savings (2023-2024 = $6,000,000)

• No: Cap Hit (2023-2024 = $6,000,000)

Matt Grzelcyk trade: 

• Yes: Cap Savings (2023 = $3,687,500)

• No: Cap Hit (2023 = $3,687,500)

Linus Ullmark trade (unlikely, but not ruling it out | also M-NTC):

• Yes: Cap Savings (2023-2024 = $5,000,000)

• No: Cap Hit (2023-2024 = $5,000,000)

Conclusion

The Bruins have many options to free up some cap space. They can either do this via trade or a contract buyout. This blog post categorized what players will most likely be bought out or traded, and it talked about others that are less likely to be moved for contractual reasons. Throughout the next blog posts, we will use these salary cap numbers and create potential rosters heading into the 2023-24 regular season.