Twenty-four hours before the opening of free agency on Friday (June 30), four players were placed on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. If they clear waivers, then they all are going to unrestricted free agents on Saturday (July 1) at noon Eastern Standard Time when free agency begins.
In what was long speculated, the Boston Bruins were one of the four teams that placed a player on waivers for the purpose of a buyout. Mike Reilly had a frustrating 2022-23 season that was spent in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Providence Bruins. Three other players, Matt Duchene (Nashville Predators), Blake Wheeler (Winnipeg Jets), and Kailer Yamamoto (Detroit Red Wings) were all placed on waivers and all but assured to be free agents when it begins.
Related: 3 Bruins’ Burning Questions Ahead of Free Agency
The Bruins have about $13.6 million in cap space to fill a roster that is missing some key pieces. It appears that Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, and Tyler Bertuzzi, all trade deadline acquisitions are going to the open market and find a new home for 2023-24. How general manager (GM) Don Sweeney goes about filling out his roster will be interesting, however, Duchene and Wheeler becoming free agents throws a curveball that gives Sweeney more options to consider. Let’s take a look at how Duchene and Wheeler would fit on the Black and Gold’s roster.
Matt Duchene
The Bruins are still waiting to hear about the futures of Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, their top two centers. It appears as if Krejci might play in Czechia next season, but Bergeron is still taking his time with his decision, and Boston will allow him to take as long as he needs. Sweeney and team President Cam Neely are planning on not having him their captain back if that’s the case, the leaves a big hole up the middle.
Duchene is one player that can fill that hole, whether or not Bergeron returns as he would also be a good number two option as well. At 32 years old, he’s still playing at a high level, averaging 18:19 a night of time on ice last season with 22 goals and 34 assists and 168 shots landed on the net. In 2021-22, he had 43 goals and 43 assists for the Predators. He won 52.9% of his face-offs last season and had a Corsi for (CF%) of 50.4.
A first line of Brad Marchand, Duchene, and Jake DeBrusk would be a got replacement for Bergeron should he retire. Duchene could work well with Marchand and DeBrusk, or even on the second line with any combination of Pavel Zacha, and David Pastrnak. Duchene would most likely cost in the $3-4 million range, but for a short-term stop-gap up the middle, that’s something the Bruins should seriously consider.
Blake Wheeler
Wheeler started his career with Bruins and played well in two seasons. In 2008-09, he had 21 goals and 24 assists in 81 regular season games, then had 18 goals and 20 assists a year later in 82 games played. He was part of a trade in February of 2011 that sent him to the then-Atlanta Thrashers before they relocated to Winnipeg.
His career took off with the Jets and leaves them after the buyout first in games played (897), assists (550), and points (812). In 2022-23, he had 16 goals and 39 assists, before adding two goals and six points in the first round of the playoffs against the Vegas Golden Knights, who won the series in five games. In 2021-22, he had 17 goals and 43 regular-season assists.
Where would he fit back in with the Bruins? At 36 years old, the right-wing could fill a middle-six role to take some pressure off of Pastrnak. Playing on the third line with Charlie Coyle is another option for coach Jim Montgomery, but it’s still clear that despite his age, he still has something left in the tank. Like Duchene, he would require a deal of around $3-4 million. Friday, Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that Wheeler’s agent said that he would prefer an Eastern Conference team. We’ll see.
It’s impossible for the Bruins to add both players, but with their buyouts, they quickly become two interesting options for Sweeney to consider. Duchene would solve their problem down the middle in the top six and Wheeler would be another right-wing capable of producing. There is no telling what the Bruins are planning on doing, but Duchene and Wheeler supply two more options for the front office to think about.