After finishing last year’s regular season in first place and losing in the second round of the playoffs, the Boston Bruins were in the market to have a big offseason that would help them compete for a championship next season. Unfortunately for Bruins fans, Don Sweeney hasn’t looked too active thus far, and time is running out to make this team better as we go into next season.
Going into free agency, the Bruins had a little over 15 million in cap space. Now, after the signing of forward Craig Smith, the Bruins have about 12 million. Smith is a solid forward who has been a 20 goal scorer fives times in his career. Ideally, he would look great on the Bruins third line alongside Charlie Coyle, but if the Bruins can’t find a top six forward in free agency, he could end up playing on the second line with David Krejci.
The Bruins had enough money to practically sign whoever they desired in free agency, but it seemed like they had their mind set on one player, Taylor Hall. Hall was the 2017-2018 NHL MVP and would have been a great fit for the Bruins. Unfortunately, Hall opted to take a one year, “prove it” deal with the Buffalo Sabres, which has left the Bruins with limited options to help their scoring.
Based on their lack of interest in the available top-tier defensemen this offseason, it seems the Bruins are not concerned with the loss of defenseman Torey Krug and are looking to solely help their scoring on the offensive side of things. So now, with no Taylor Hall, let’s take a look at some other options that could help the Bruins top six.
Mike Hoffman
Mike Hoffman has made a living as a top-tier scorer in the league. Every season that he has played over 25 games in, he has scored at least 22 goals, with his career high coming in the 2018-2019 season when he had 36 goals. Hoffman is 30 years old and could still be looking for one more hefty contract for his career. However, the Bruins might be able to get him on a one year deal so he can prove to the league that he is deserving of a long term deal for good money.
Mikael Granlund
Mikael Granlund is a guy who struggled after leaving Minnesota, but for a guy who is still only 28 years old, there is no reason he can’t get back to where he was back when he played for Minnesota. Granlund is a natural center, but in all likelihood he would play left wing for the Bruins. From 2016-2019, Granlund hung around the 50s and 60s for his point totals, and there shouldn’t be any reason for him not to return to that form on the Bruins second line.
Some better fits could have included players like Taylor Hall, Evgeny Dadonov and Tyler Toffoli, but it seems that Sweeny has been shy about pulling the trigger. I guess that is fair, considering he doesn’t want another David Backes-esque mistake, but it’s now time to make one last ditch effort to win a championship with this group, and options are dwindling. It would be unacceptable if this team went into this season with over 10 million of unused cap space.