Taking a Look at the Early Signings by the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins General Manager Don Sweeney was a busy man on Wednesday, acquiring a plethora of new talents in an attempt to bolster the third and fourth lines, defense and goaltending. Here’s a look at some of the bigger signings that Bruins fans will hope to see make an impact over the course of the 2021-2022 season;
Nick Foligno
Foligno is a veteran left-winger who has amassed a total of 14 seasons in the NHL. Between the Ottawa Senators, Columbus Blue Jackets and Toronto Maple Leafs, Foligno has a career total of 203 goals and 283 assists. The Buffalo, New York native will be coming to Boston on a two-year contract with an average annual value of $3.8 million. With the first and second lines seemingly set for the upcoming season and with the possible departure of Jake DeBrusk, it’s fair to assume that Foligno will slot in on the left side on the third or fourth line.
Tomas Nosek
It didn’t take long for the Bruins to find their center replacement on the fourth line after Sean Kuraly signed with his hometown Blue Jackets. The 28-year-old Nosek had a nice season for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2020-2021, totaling eight goals and 10 assists in 38 games played. Compared to Kuraly’s nine points in 47 games the B’s should see an uptick in production from the fourth line. A stout fourth line is something the Bruins have missed since the 2018-19 season when it was anchored by Kuraly, Noel Acciari and Chris Wagner/Joakim Nordstrom.
Derek Forbort
After signing Mike Reilly to a three-year deal to lock up the top four spots on defense, did the Bruins actually find a solid left-shot defenseman who can play on both the third defensive pairing and the penalty kill? Only time will tell. Forbort, who averaged 2:42 of shorthanded time on ice last season, will be joining the black and gold on a three-year contract with a $3 million AAV. The 219-pound defender tallied 12 points in 56 games last year for the Winnipeg Jets and most notably ranked fifth in the NHL in blocked shots with 115.
Erik Haula
Haula-lujah. Sorry, I just really wanted to say that. Haula’s best offensive season in the NHL came in the inaugural season for the Golden Knights in 2017-18 when the left-winger scored 29 goals to go along with 26 assists in 76 games. However, Haula has not played over 51 games in a season since then. Haula’s contract is for two years and carries an AAV of $2.375 million. With the aforementioned signing of Foligno and again, the uncertain future of DeBrusk, Haula could find a spot on the fourth line alongside his former teammate, Nosek, or on either of Charlie Coyle’s wings on the third grouping.
Linus Ullmark
A former Buffalo Sabre, the Bruins signed the Swedish goalie to a four-year contract with an AAV of $5 million. Ullmark had a solid season in 2020-2021 for the lowly Sabres. In 20 games, he had a .917 save percentage with a goals-against average of 2.63. With Tuukka Rask recovering from surgery and still yet to sign, and Jeremy Swayman just coming into his own as the future number one goaltender, Ullmark provides some security in the goaltending department for the black and gold.
Is this enough?
Wednesday was a decent start to the offseason for Sweeney and the Bruins. There is still plenty more work to be done as Rask and David Krejci – should he decide to continue playing in the United States – remain unsigned. In the end, will any of this be enough to beat a team like the Tampa Bay Lightning? Probably not. But Bruins fans can still hope, right?
