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The gates are about to open on NHL free agency, and the Bruins still have a pressing need on the right side of the blue line.
The market is thin, though, and some names have already come off the board.
Darren Raddysh and Michael Kesselring were moved earlier in the offseason, but the market has shifted even more in the last 10 days. John Carlson and Radko Gudas are two right-shot defensemen whose negotiation rights were traded before July 1. While they have not put pen to paper on a new contract yet, their respective trades give an interested team an exclusive window.
As of Tuesday night, both the Hurricanes and Panthers are reportedly working to sign their newly acquired right-shot defensemen. If either hits the market, expect the Bruins to be among the interested teams.
The Bruins have $7,715,417 of salary cap space to work with, and Frank Seravalli reported that the Bruins “have their eye on at least one right-shooting free agent defenseman.” So, let’s look at who is on the board:
Rasmus Andersson, 29
AFP Projection: six years, $8.74 million cap hit
The Vegas Golden Knights have not signed Rasmus Andersson. The Bruins wanted him in January, but he did not want to sign an extension at the time, so Don Sweeney backed off. The 6-foot-1 defenseman is coming off a season in which he scored a career-high 17 goals, but his playoff run was not as impressive. He was held scoreless in Vegas’ 22-game run to the Cup Final.
It was reported in January that the Bruins pitched Andersson a seven-year deal with a $9 million cap hit. If he hits the market, it would be surprising if the Bruins were not circling back.
Jacob Trouba, 32
AFP Projection: four years, $6.40 million cap hit
The former Ranger captain is also set to hit the open market. Jacob Trouba has always carried a hard-to-play-against element to his game, one that fits the Bruins’ identity, and there is no question that it would carry over and complement the blue line. He found his game in Anaheim, but he is only getting further away from his prime. He can still log heavy minutes, and he is a reliable penalty-killing option.
Trouba finished the season with 35 points (10-25–35), which would have been the second-most among Bruins defensemen.
John Klingberg, 33
AFP Projection: two years, $5.17 million cap hit
From there, the market starts to thin out pretty quickly, as this option would be more of a reclamation project. The San Jose Sharks were the most recent team to take a swing on a John Klingberg bounce-back, but Sheng Peng reported he will hit the market. The 6-foot-1 Swedish defenseman often ran on their top pair and finished with 27 points (10-17–27) in 56 games. He also finished with a minus-13 and has not finished with a plus/minus rating higher than even since 2022-23.
Klingberg has also battled injuries throughout his career, and he has played in 81 total games over the last three seasons.
Nick Blankenburg, 28
AFP Projection: two years, $4.06 million cap hit
Nick Blankenburg is an intriguing option for the Bruins, but he is not a proven top-four defenseman. He spent this year mostly in a bottom-pair role with Nashville and Colorado. The 5-foot-9 defenseman saw both power play and penalty kill time with the Predators, but not with the Avalanche. He finished with 24 points (8-16–24) between his two stops.
Andrew Peeke, 28
AFP Projection: four years, $4.13 million cap hit
Or, they could run it back. The market is slim. Andrew Peeke was brought in to address a need, and Don Sweeney has repeatedly stated that he’s still in contact with Peeke’s representatives. He will not move the needle on offense; that is not his calling card. Marco Sturm trusted him, deploying Peeke for an average of 19:23 per night, the highest it has been since he joined the Bruins in 2024.
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The post Bruins Free Agency: Right-Handed Defensemen Expected to be on the Market appeared first on Boston Hockey Now.
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