Boston Bruins general manager (GM) Don Sweeney said there was going to be change to his team heading into 2023-24 after their historic 2022-23 season and he was right. There was plenty of change to the Black and Gold, who began training camp on Wednesday (Sept. 20). Gone franchise centers Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, as well as some players who left in free agency and a trade.
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It’s clear that Boston is going to take a step back this season, but just how far is the question. Now that the dust has settled on the 2023 offseason, it’s time to grade Sweeney’s summer of change.
Sweeney Traded Hall and Foligno to Chicago
Sweeney’s first bit of business was clearing some cap space ahead of free agency and he did in late June when he traded Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno’s unrestricted free agent (UFA) right to the Chicago Blackhawks. He got Chicago GM Kyle Davidson to take all $12 million of Hall’s remaining contract, including the $6 million average annual value (AAV).
The move created much-needed cap space and in the overall picture, Hall was the right contract to move. Now, the surprising part was no more contracts were moved. Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort were options to move and maybe even Jake DeBrusk or Linus Ullmark could have been moved, but Sweeney decided to hold pay, for now.
2023 NHL Entry Draft in Nashville
Another NHL Entry Draft for the Bruins with no first-round pick. At the trade deadline, Sweeney sent it to the Washington Capitals along with Craig Smith for Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway. That pick was eventually traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs who used it to select Easton Cowan 28th overall.
As for Boston, they had five draft picks on the second day in late June in Nashville and selected center, Chris Pelosi, in the third round, center Beckett Hendrickson in the fourth round, forward Ryan Walsh in the sixth round, forward Casper Nassen and defenseman Kristian Kostadinski in the seventh round.
Free Agency
Following their elimination at the hands of the Florida Panthers, Sweeney spoke about wanting to add more youth into the lineup for this season. It’s still possible that can happen, however, with the free agency moves, it’s going to be hard to do that.
Milan Lucic was brought back on a one-year deal and veteran James van Riemsdyk was also added on a one-year deal. Patrick Brown is a candidate to take a spot from a prospect in the bottom-six and Morgan Geekie is one of the big wild card free-agent additions. Both got two-year deals. Kevin Shattenkirk was added as Connor Clifton’s replacement, while Jesper Boqvist, Alex Chiasson, and Danton Heinen were also signed and will be interesting players to watch in camp.
Sweeney handed out one-year deals to van Riemsdyk, Lucic, and Shattenkirk with an eye toward free agency in 2024 with a good amount of cap space to work with.
No Major Trades, Kept Both Goalies
With Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retired, their replacements, at least going into training camp and the start of the season, are likely going to be Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle. Yes, they both played well in the postseason last spring, but are they ready to handle the spots over an 82-game season? That remains to be seen.
Their long-term replacements are more than likely outside of the organization and will have to come through a trade or free agency. The latter seems unlikely, but trading for March Scheifele of the Winnipeg Jets or someone else seems like the route Sweeney will need to go. The Bruins appear to be heading toward leaning on their goaltenders this season, keeping both Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman, who signed a one-year deal through arbitration. Boston has nearly $8.5 million locked up in their goaltenders this season, which seems steep.
Overall, no one should be surprised as to the offseason the Bruins and Sweeney had. They signed free agents to be competitive in their Centennial Season and should be in the hunt for a playoff berth in the much-improved Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. This feels like a bridge year and staying competitive before free agency begins next July.
Grade: C+
