The Boston Bruins have announced the signing of restricted free agent Sean Kuraly to a three-year contract that will carry a cap hit of $1.275MM. Kuraly was given a qualifying offer last week and was eligible for arbitration, but will instead re-sign for the next three seasons. The team also formally announced the one-year two-way contract for Anton Blidh, which will carry a $650K cap hit in the NHL.
Kuraly, 25, played his first full season for the Bruins in 2017-18, recording 14 points in 75 games. Though that offensive output isn’t very inspiring, Kuraly did provide a reliable physical presence at the fourth-line center position and chipped in on the penalty kill. His possession numbers are skewed by the fact that Bruce Cassidy used him in an almost exclusively defensive role, giving him more than 70% of his zone starts in his own end. For such a tough role Kuraly actually performed admirably, something he’ll likely be asked to do again next season.
After losing Riley Nash in free agency, the Bruins needed to keep the rest of their center depth in tact this summer and signing Kuraly is a big part of that since the team only signed Chris Wagner to replenish the position. It’s not clear how the lines will shake out, or if some of Boston’s young players will make the roster, but at this point Kuraly seems locked in for somewhere between 12-14 minutes a night while taking plenty of defensive draws for the Bruins in 2018-19.