Navigating the salary cap is one of the most important tasks for a front office. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t often see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2024-25 season. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of PuckPedia. We’re currently covering the Atlantic Division, first up is the Bruins.
Boston Bruins
Current Cap Hit: $87,387,497 (under the $88MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F John Beecher (one year, $925K)
D Mason Lohrei (one year, $925K)
Potential Bonuses
Lohrei: $250K
Beecher spent most of last season in Boston, albeit in a limited role, one that has carried over to this season. He’s having a decent season on their fourth line but players like this tend to sign a short-term second contract. He should be able to add a few hundred thousand to his current price tag on a two-year deal.
Lohrei performed well in Boston last season, getting into half of their games, helping him secure a full-time spot this year. His role has largely been limited – he’s often on the third pairing – but a regular role on the power play has him sitting second in scoring among Bruins blueliners. A bridge deal is likely for him as well but it should check in around double of what Beecher winds up with.
Signed Through 2024-25, Non-Entry-Level
F Justin Brazeau ($775K, UFA)
F Trent Frederic ($2.3MM, UFA)
F Morgan Geekie ($2MM, RFA)
F Cole Koepke ($775K, UFA)
F Brad Marchand ($6.125MM, UFA)
F Oliver Wahlstrom ($1MM, RFA)
D Parker Wotherspoon ($800K, UFA)
Marchand is by far the most notable among Boston’s potential free agents. The captain has been on a team-friendly deal for pretty much the majority of his career, even with his production starting to drop – though he’s still second in scoring this season. Given the pricier deals that management has handed out in recent years, it’s reasonable to expect that Marchand will be looking for a raise as well, even with his output going in the wrong direction. He’ll be 37 when his next deal starts so it’ll be a short-term one, likely between one and three years. Three years would likely allow for a lower AAV than a one-year pact but with the cap going up, Marchand should still be in line for a raise next year.
Frederic came into this season coming off his best two offensive years, seemingly putting him in line for a nice jump closer to the $3.5MM mark. However, his production has tailed off this season which won’t help his cause. That said, he has enough of a track record as a solid and physical checker that there should be enough interest to put him around the $3MM range even if his offense doesn’t come around. Geekie had a career year offensively last season, his first with Boston after being non-tendered by Seattle to avoid giving him arbitration eligibility. That concern could come into play for him again over the summer, especially with his output dropping as sharply as Frederic’s. He’s worth a raise to the $3MM area but if the Bruins think he could get more from an arbitrator, he could be a non-tender candidate as well.
Wahlstrom was a non-tender candidate last summer with the Islanders but eventually settled on this deal, a last chance type of contract. Things didn’t go well and he wound up on waivers where Boston recently picked him up. Being arbitration-eligible, it’d be surprising to see him get qualified this summer unless he is able to rediscover his scoring touch in the second half of the season.
Brazeau was a feel-good story last season, turning an AHL deal into a two-year NHL agreement. Since then, he has been a productive bottom-six winger. Now that he has shown himself to be a capable NHL winger, it wouldn’t be shocking for him to at least double this on the open market. Koepke has been a nice addition to Boston’s fourth line but he’s 26 and in his first full NHL season. That will limit his market to a point but he should be able to push past the $1MM mark at least if he stays a regular the rest of the way.
Wotherspoon played in half of Boston’s game last season, helping secure a one-way salary for the first time in his career. But playing time has been harder to come by this year. As a result, he’s trending toward heading back to a two-way contract for next season, one that probably will be at $775K at the NHL level.
Signed Through 2025-26
F Charlie Coyle ($5.25MM, UFA)
D Jordan Oesterle ($775K, UFA)
D Andrew Peeke ($2.75MM, UFA)
Coyle has been quiet offensively this season but before that, his previous three seasons saw him produce at a second-line level so it’s fair to suggest he’ll get back to that level and the market will view him as that. Having said that, he’ll be 34 on his next deal so he’s likelier to land around three or four years and an anticipated drop in production at the end of that term might drive the price down to something relatively close to where he is now.
Peeke struggled in the first year of this contract, often being scratched in Columbus before being acquired by Boston at the trade deadline. He has played more regularly with the Bruins but has primarily been on the third pairing. If that holds up over the next year and a half, it wouldn’t be surprising for Peeke to be looking at a small pay cut while Boston’s preference may be to have someone cheaper in that roster slot. Oesterle has split time between the NHL and AHL the last couple of years and is likely to continue to stay at or near the minimum salary moving forward unless he can lock down a full-time spot in Boston’s lineup.
Signed Through 2026-27
D Brandon Carlo ($4.1MM, UFA)
F Pavel Zacha ($4.75MM, UFA)
Zacha has found another gear offensively since joining Boston in 2022. In his first season with them, he set new benchmarks in goals, assists, and points. Last year, he tied or beat them, putting up 59 points in 78 games. Like many this year, he’s off to a slower start but even so, his numbers are comparable to his best seasons in New Jersey. Assuming he can get back to putting up second-line production, this contract should age pretty well for the Bruins and it’s plausible that he pushes past the $6MM mark in 2027.
After his bridge deal, Carlo signed this agreement, a six-year pact. Through the first half of it, he continued to be a strong defensive specialist and that has continued into this year. For someone often on the second pairing, the price tag is reasonable but his very limited offensive upside will limit him on the open market. While top stay-at-home players have seen their markets improve in recent years, Carlo might not be able to command much more than $5MM per season, even with an anticipated jump in the cap.
Signed Through 2027-28 Or Longer
F Mark Kastelic ($835K this season, $1.567MM from 2025-26 through 2027-28)
G Joonas Korpisalo ($3MM through 2027-28)*
F Elias Lindholm ($7.75MM through 2030-31)
D Hampus Lindholm ($6.5MM through 2029-30)
D Charlie McAvoy ($9.5MM through 2029-30)
F David Pastrnak ($11.25MM through 2030-31)
G Jeremy Swayman ($8.25MM through 2031-32)
D Nikita Zadorov ($5MM through 2029-30)
*-Ottawa is retaining another $1MM on Korpisalo’s contract.
Pastrnak had Boston in a bind in 2023. In his contract year, he blew past his previous career highs offensively and was among the top scorers in the league. That landed him a near-$5MM raise, moving him from the bargain category to a high-priced one. But to his credit, Pastrnak has continued to produce at a high-end pace and as long as that keeps him, they’ll do just fine with this contract. Lindholm had a particularly rough platform year which made this contract a bit of a surprise. He’s getting low-end top center money for someone whose production might narrowly qualify him as a second-liner. Granted, his defensive play is consistently strong but while he filled a big need, he’s doing so on a contract that will be hard to get value from.
Kastelic came over in an offseason trade from Ottawa and has fit in extremely well, anchoring the new-look fourth line while being above average at the faceoff dot. That allowed him to nearly double his current price tag with his recent extension while buying some extra club control.
McAvoy was the first Bruin to truly break past the notion that their top players all take team-friendly deals to help build the core. He did so on an early extension too, one that has held up relatively well all things considered. His best offensive season happened to be the one he signed the extension in so even had he gotten to the offseason when he would have been arbitration-eligible, McAvoy still would have landed something in this area as an all-around number one option. As long as he can produce at a high-end rate for a defender, this contract will be fair value. Having said that, McAvoy’s production has ticked down the last couple of seasons and he’s off to a rough start this year so if that trend continues, this could become a bit of an issue for Boston.
Lindholm wasted little time signing this extension after the Bruins acquired him in 2022. While his first full season was a breakout one, he went back to his usual form last season, in that 25-35-point range while logging big minutes in all situations. Paid as a number two blueliner, Lindholm should hold down that role for a while although the final couple of years could be a little rougher if he needs to taken on a lesser position on the depth chart as he gets older. Zadorov was Boston’s other prominent addition in free agency, receiving a better deal (both in term and dollars) than some expected. He’s playing a bit higher on the depth chart than he was in Calgary and Vancouver so if he can stay in that top-four role, they’ll get some value out of the deal but with a limited track record offensively, it’s likely to be an above-market pact.
Swayman waited a long time over the offseason, holding out through training camp before signing this deal. It’s in the upper tier for a starter but his performance – though in limited play – had been at that level. This season hasn’t gone as planned but if he can bounce back to top-ten form even, this contract should hold up alright. Korpisalo’s only season in Ottawa was a rough one, to put it lightly. Boston’s hope is that with a better defense in front of him, he can rebound and the early return on that belief is good. $3MM for a quality backup is more than reasonable in today’s market although with a pricey starter on the books as well, it might not be a luxury they can afford for too long.
Buyouts
D Mike Reilly ($1.33MM in 2024-25)
Retained Salary Transactions
None
Best Value: (non-entry-level) Marchand
Worst Value: Lindholm
Looking Ahead
Cap space was tight heading into the season but Boston has been aggressive with paper moves and not carrying the maximum number of players, allowing them to bank a bit of room thus far. If they can stay healthy over the next couple of months, they should be able to add at least a depth upgrade or two without necessarily having to match money. But in terms of making a bigger swing, that will either require retention on the other end or the Bruins putting a regular player in to balance things out.
Boston already has over $70MM on the books for next season to just 13 players with a new deal for Marchand (or a replacement if he leaves) set to add to that considerably. There might be room for a free agent of some note but beyond that, the rest will be earmarked for filling out the roster. Meanwhile, with only three expiring contracts in 2026, there may not be much flexibility there either. The Bruins are set up to keep their core in place without much issue but adding to that core may come down to how much the salary cap increases in the coming years.
Photos courtesy of Imagn Images.