The Boston Bruins were busy on the first day of the NHL’s annual free agent derby. GM Don Sweeney met with media to formally announce announce the signings of forwards Nick Foligno, Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek, defenseman Derek Forbort and goaltender Linus Ullmark.
The last name, announced later in the afternoon, sent shockwaves across social media, especially when the terms of the contract came out: four years, $20 million and a $5M AAV. The signing adds complexity to the Tuukka Rask situation in Boston, the latter just having had hip surgery and not available for at least another five or six months.
Also impacting the goaltender situation in Boston is the breaking news that Dan Vladar was traded to Calgary for a 2022 third-round pick. This opens the door for Jeremy Swayman and Ullmark to be the tandem for the time being.
The team entered today with between $16-17 million in cap space and after today’s adds, will need to do something else to free up additional space needed to sign David Krejci.
The most pressing business for the team is officially coming to terms on an extension with Krejci, which completes the team’s top-6 forward needs. As it stands, signs point to the team and Krejci getting done. The B’s did not sign anyone today who would be seen as sure replacements for their second-line center. Sweeney said that while there is no timeline for re-signing Krejci, the situation is “open-ended."
On the other hand, the signings all but point to the end of Jake DeBrusk’s Boston tenure. With a logjam of left-shot forwards now, something has to give, and the team will need the $3.675M he represents in cap space to get everything done.
Ullmark: 4 years, $5M AAV
News broke just before Sweeney’s media availability that the team had signed Buffalo Sabres unrestricted free agent goaltender Linus Ullmark to a four-year contract valued at $20 million.
This key signing brings in an experienced young veteran in his prime at age 28 (his birthday is on Saturday) to be the team’s No. 1 goaltender for the foreseeable future. With Vladar traded, it will be Ullmark and Swayman in the Boston nets for the first few months of the season. Time will tell whether the door is open for a Rask return in 2022 when he completes his rehabilitation and some kind of a timeshare in place, but this was unexpected, and is a smart strategic move to get one of the biggest upside goalies available.
“He’s big, he stops a lot of pucks above expected,” Sweeney said when asked what he likes about Ullmark. “Overall, he’s in the prime of his career, he’s had a lot of experience.” Sweeney added the team will work with him on avoiding injuries and that the newest B’s goalie is excited to play in Boston’s veteran structure.
"We've left the door open for Tuukka to return," Sweeney said. "And I think it just allows Jeremy to progress at a natural rate, but also give him the opportunity to be at the NHL level."
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Ullmark doesn’t come without risk. He battled injuries this past season, but posted a solid 2.63 GAA and .917 save percentage in 20 games with the last-place Sabres. He will be a better player in Boston, and given the uncertainty surrounding Rask’s recovery, this is a solid solution today and well into tomorrow.
Nick Foligno, 2 years, $3.8M AAV
The highest-profile signing of the day was forward Nick Foligno, who came to terms on a two-year, two-year, $7.6 million contract later in the afternoon, with the Minnesota Wild reportedly competing for his services as well.
"I'm here to help," Foligno said. "They want to win, they know how to win and I want to be a part of it."
The 33-year-old, who turns 34 in October, was Ottawa’s first-round pick (28th overall) in 2006, and is the son of longtime Bruins nemesis Mike Foligno, who was a member of the Buffalo Sabres for many of the Adams Division’s ‘Black n’ Blue n’ Gold Wars’ between the two teams of the late 1980s in both regular season and playoffs.
The 6-foot, 211-pound left wing isn’t the scoring player he once was, but as captain of the Columbus Blue Jackets before he was dealt to Toronto at the trade deadline, he’s a top character veteran who is difficult to play against. Foligno is a perfect fit for the culture of the team.
“He comes in as a leader, he plays three positions,” Sweeney said. “And he wants to win.”
He mentioned that captain Patrice Bergeron had a major influence on his decision to sign, lobbying him personally to join the Bruins. has a personal connection with the city of Boston after his young daughter Milana had life-saving surgery to replace an infected heart valve at Children’s Hospital in late 2018.
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Although the dollars might be higher than ideal for a high-energy but aging forward, Foligno will bring instant credibility and respect to a Bruins room that has a surplus of leadership and dedicated professionals. Time will tell on the production, but he helps the team win.
Forbort: 3 years, $3M AAV
Linked to the Bruins in the days leading up to free agency, the 6-foot-4, 220-pound left-shooting defenseman brings needed experience and defensive acumen to the Boston lineup.
A 20+ minute/night player, the Duluth, Minn. native and University of North Dakota product is a reliable shot-blocker who did well with a majority of defensive zone starts. His usage in Winnipeg put him up against tough matchups, where his size and range as a fairly mobile skater made him tough to beat wide with speed. He will also help with the penalty kill, which is an area of need for the Boston blue line.
On paper, Forbort is a third-pairing defender, but the reality is that Bruce Cassidy and his staff will be able to use him as a matchup play with Charlie McAvoy in key defensive situations. His defense-first style complements what other left-shot defenders Matt Grzelcyk and Mike Reilly bring to the mix.
“He’s a good teammate, good defenseman,” said Colten St. Clair, a North Dakota teammate who now coaches in the USHL. “He’s willing to do whatever it takes and sticks up for guys. He’s an underrated player- real good defensively and wants to put in the work to get better.”
Haula: 2 years, $2.375M AAV
The well-traveled, versatile forward is 30 and coming off a bit of a down year in Nashville that trended up in the second half.
He is just three seasons removed from scoring 29 goals for the Vegas Golden Knights in their inaugural season and run to the 2018 Stanley Cup final.
A 6-foot, 195-pound center who can also play the wing, Haula is skilled and creative. He’s not a top-level skater, but he uses his hockey sense and anticipation effectively and is around the puck a lot. The offensive production dropped off after an injury-riddled 2018-19 campaign, but he does provide Boston a stable option for the middle of the roster.
Sweeney cited the versatility of Haula and Nosek, as players who can move up and down the lineup as needed and switch from center ice to the flanks, as attractive aspects of making them a day 1 priority to sign.
Nosek: 2 years, $1.75M AAV
The B’s replaced the departed Sean Kuraly (Columbus) with Czech undrafted free agent center Tomas Nosek with a two-year, $3.5 million contract.
Nosek, who signed with Detroit out of the Czech pro league in 2015, spent the past four seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights. His numbers are about what you would expect from a fourth-line grinding center, but he competes hard and is strong on draws.
The big-bodied (6-foot-2, 205 pounds) forward is versatile in that he can move around the forward positions, and should provide the B’s with a more effective fourth line when lined up with expected wingers Trent Frederic and Curtis Lazar.
Organizational signings
The team also announced the signings of forwards Samuel Asselin and Steven Fogarty, defenseman Tyler Lewington and goaltender Troy Grosenick to NHL contracts.
