While most of the Boston Bruins fan base seems to have caught the Tyler Bertuzzi fever, the recent cap dump in Taylor Hall has made a future with Bertuzzi more likely. There have been a plethora of reports on who the Bruins would like to retain and whom they’d let walk. Regardless of those reports, which are mixed on whether the Bruins will retain Bertuzzi, they should pass.
With the recent trade of Taylor Hall and the statement from Cam Neely at the Draft Media Day, they are working as if Bergeron and Krejci are NOT returning to the lineup. There is a glaring hole down the middle of the Bruins lineup, and they don’t seem to have any prospects ready to take on a #1 or #2 center role. Could Pavel Zacha slide in and be a very serviceable #2 center? Absolutely, he had shown it at times last season, and then you still have a top-line center to obtain/acquire.
Here’s a brief look at the roster for next season thus far:
With the Bruins only having roughly #12m in cap space, I’m projecting Jeremy Swayman to take at least $4m. I have written about this previously and gave comparables, if you’re interested in his contract, view that article here; I won’t elaborate too much in this piece. That would leave the Bruins roughly $8m in cap space with EIGHT roster spots to fill and 3 RFAs to sign.
Ian Mitchell: QO $874,125
Trent Frederic: QO $874,125
Jakub Lauko: QO $787,500
As you can see from the math in front of you, it’s roughly $1m per position player left. You’re not going to be snagging any All-Star quality talent to fill out the rest of your roster unless you make more significant cap dump trades OR swap salary.
With Trent Frederic, you’d give him his QO, being the cheapest option. However, he is arbitration eligible. I expect that Frederic, on the open market, could command anywhere from $2-3m per year. This is something the Bruins can’t afford currently.
Conclusion
With laying out the cap struggles and what it could take for the Bruins to sign some of their homegrown players, it seems evident to me that the Bruins signing Tyler Bertuzzi to his expected $5.25-6m AAV, I don’t see how the Bruins could fit that in their system unless they have multiple moves still coming. A la Mike Reilly trade/buyout or a Matt Grzelcyk trade.
The Bruins should PASS on Bertuzzi, regardless of the perfect fit.
