The Boston Bruins might have lost in Round 2 at the hands of the Florida Panthers, but all in all this team still has the pieces to contend. That could change this offseason.
The worst case scenario for the Boston Bruins this offseason
The Boston Bruins have money to spend this summer. Currently, the team has a little over $20 million in cap space to work with, but the team does have plenty of free agents to worry about.
Jesper Boqvist and Jeremy Swayman are both set to be restricted free agents, additionally there are a number of unrestricted free agents coming off the books.
Jake DeBrusk, Danton Heinen, Pat Maroon, Jayson Megna and James van Riemsdyk are all set to be free agents on the offensive side of things. On the defensive side, the team could be losing Derek Forbort, Matt Grzelcyk and Kevin Shattenkirk.
The worst case scenario for the Boston Bruins revolves around one player, Jeremy Swayman.
Jeremy Swayman was one of the best goaltenders in the NHL this past season. Swayman played in 44 regular season games this past year, putting up a .916 save perentage and a goals against average of 2.53. In 2023 the young goaltender won the William M. Jennings Trophy.
At just 25 years old, the Boston Bruins have an elite goaltender that can help keep their team competitive for years to come, and they will want to keep him in Boston for a long time this summer.
The Boston Bruins are going to sign Swayman to a monster extension. But if they let him remain unsigned by July 1 they open themselves up to another team trying to steal Swayman with an offer sheet.
While Boston would arguably sign any offer sheet that comes there way regarding Swayman, they would put themselves at risk at having to pay more than they would like.
While $20 million seems like a lot, next season a number of key players are coming off the books with guys like Marchand, Frederic, Geekie, Beecher, and Brazeau just to name a few all looking for new contracts.
The Boston Bruins cannot allow for Swayman to hit the open market on July 1. Extending the star goaltender on a long term contract needs to happen sooner rather than later.