The Boston Bruins have signed forward Jesper Boqvist to a one-year, one-way contract carrying a league-minimum cap hit of $775K, the team announced Wednesday.
Boqvist found himself an unrestricted free agent this summer after the New Jersey Devils opted not to issue him a qualifying offer. He’ll stay within the conference, just a few hours’ drive away from the New York area, on a league-minimum deal.
The contract does come in a few thousand dollars under the qualifying offer he was due from New Jersey, which would’ve carried a value of $917,831 in the NHL. He does secure a one-way agreement, though, something he was likely looking for after playing in 70 games for the Devils last year.
His ten goals, 11 assists, and 21 points weren’t career-highs, however – he had tallied ten goals and 13 assists for 23 points in just 56 games with the Devils the year prior. The 2017 second-round pick is showing he can stick in the NHL full-time as a reliable bottom-six scorer, and the cap-strapped Bruins are more than happy to get his services on a league-minimum deal.
The 24-year-old will maintain his restricted free agent status at the end of next season, meaning he’ll be under team control next offseason. He could slot in as the team’s fourth-line center behind Pavel Zacha, Charlie Coyle, and Morgan Geekie, and he’ll likely be an everyday player for the Bruins as a gigantic chunk was taken out of last season’s elite scoring depth.
Honestly, JBo has upside. This is a sneaky pickup for the Bruins – at that price it’s a great deal. He’s a bottom 6 player but he isn’t terrible; has some versatility. Was a bit like Greer and Zacha in that he was stuck in the middle in NJ and ended up in Boston.
Yeah, thinking much the same: that he isn’t a bad player, and league minimum works well.
Not a Sweeney fan, but he has hit on guys like this in the past. Nash, Schaller, Nordstrom and Nosek. Great value and team control next year if he produces.