The Boston Bruins could look for a blue line upgrade and some depth scoring
Fluto Shinzawa of The Athletic: The Boston Bruins will need to look at upgrading their blue line this offseason. They may need a little more depth, and they had trouble handling the Buffalo Sabres speed and skill in the first round.
The Bruins didn’t have a lot of trouble scoring in the regular season, but it dropped in the first round, especially on the second and third lines.
Some pending free agent decisions for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Josh Yohe of The Athletic: Teams keep calling the Pittsburgh Penguins and asking about Bryan Rust. They have been told that he’s not available. There would be a high cost; GM Kyle Dubas would only move for a big return.
Vancouver Canucks GM Search Slowly Coming to an End
Egor Chinakhov needs a new contract after putting up 18 goals and 18 assists in 43 games. Tommy Novak has a $3.5 million cap hit next year, but his return isn’t guaranteed.
Anthony Mantha had a great season with 33 goals and 31 assists, perfect timing for the pending UFA. The Penguins won’t get into a bidding war, which there could be.
Noel Acciari is another pending UFA for the Penguins, and given that he’ll be 34-years-0ld at the start of next season, he likely won’t be back. Kevin Hayes won’t be back with the Penguins next year.
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang didn’t have a good regular season and has two years left on his contract at a $6.1 million cap hit. He’ll be 39-years-old at the start of next season. There would be no salary cap relief if they bought him out, given he’s on a 35+ deal.
There is a mutual interest in bringing back defenseman Ryan Shea after putting up 35 points and being a reliable third-pairing defenseman. Connor Clifton won’t be back, but wouldn’t rule out Ilya Solovyov re-signing.
A Decision on Evegni Malkin Could Come Fast for the Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins are open to the idea of re-signing goaltender Stuart Skinner, but it seems unlikely that he’ll be back. He’ll get interest elsewhere.
We had to restart our X account. Please follow @MyNHLRumorsX
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
If you love our reporting, choose NHLrumors.com as a preferred source on Google.
