The Bruins are set to enter this offseason with over $26 million in cap space.
Joonas Korpisalo could move for cap relief this offseason for Boston. (AP Photo/Jayne-Kamin-Oncea)
The Boston Bruins have some cash to burn this offseason.
Whether because of the NHL’s soaring salary cap or Don Sweeney clearing out several contracts during Boston’s trade-deadline firesale, the Bruins are set to enter the summer with a projected $26.2 million in cap space, per PuckPedia.
Coming off a dreadful 2024-25 campaign where Boston struggled to both snuff out Grade-A chances and bury them down the other end of the ice, Sweeney and his staff should have the fiscal flexibility to add some talent via free agency or trade.
But as enticing as that cap space might be, it will likely dissipate in short order — especially during this surging cap era in the NHL.
Some of that spending power will likely be snapped away by Boston’s in-house moves such as signing restricted free agents in Morgan Geekie and Mason Lohrei. And, the going rate for top players on the market could also limit Boston to adding just one or two truly game-changing talents under the current cap structure.
Currently, 15 teams across the NHL are operating with at least $20 million in cap space. With all that money to burn (and the cap expected to surge even higher in the coming years), the top dog in free agency in Mitch Marner could easily net $13-14 million per year.
Middle-six wingers like Nikolaj Ehlers and Brock Boeser would help Boston moving forward when it comes to fixing its anemic offense. But either winger in today’s market could easily command over $8 million per year.
If Boston wanted to target a hard-nosed, right-shot defenseman like Aaron Ekblad, a similar price tag would present itself.
Given the abundance of needs facing the Bruins this summer, coupled with the amount of times set to hand out hefty contracts, it feels like a given that said $26.2 million is going to dry up sooner than expected, especially with just 14 players currently under contract on the active roster.
Boston would be wise to not spend all of that cap space in free agency — a lesson learned after underwhelming returns this past year. But the Bruins could also given themselves some additional flexibility this offseason if they find a way to move another contract or two off the books.
Freeing up another $4-6 million before free agency may not give Boston the option to add a Boeser and Ehlers during the same offseason. But it could be the difference between Boston being able to sign a legitimate third-line regular over, say, a PTO candidate or some other buy-low candidate.
And fair to say, Boston needs all of the help it can get.
Here are three possible players that the Bruins could try to move on from in order to free up some additional cap space.
Joonas Korpisalo ($3 million AAV, signed through 2027-28)
Sweeney acknowledged in April that the Bruins should have handed Korpisalo more reps this past season instead of giving the lion’s share of minutes in net to a struggling Jeremy Swayman.
Given how porous Boston’s defense was this past season, Korpisalo fared as expected in his first year with the Bruins (11-10-3, .893 save percentage).
If Marco Sturm and the Bruins right the ship defensively, Korpisalo could be a steady backup goalie, giving Swayman more of a breather moving forward if Boston opts to give the 31-year-old netminder a more consistent workload than in 2024-25 (27 games).
But with cap space being a premium and with Swayman still expected to be the team’s No. 1 goalie, the case can be made that the Bruins should try to find a taker for Korpisalo’s contract and use a cheaper option as Swayman’s backup moving forward.
If the Bruins are committing $11.25 million to their goalie rotation for the next three years, they better be a pretty effective tandem. Unless the Bruins are going to realistically carve out 35-40 games for Korpialo moving forward, a $3 million backup for a 26-year-old netminder earning big bucks isn’t all that tenable.
Of course, not every team has a potential franchise fixture like Swayman (at least, the one that Bruins fans saw from 2020-24). As such, there could be several teams with plenty of cap space on hand who might be interested in taking on Korpisalo as either a low-cost starter or a backup for more of an unproven goalie.
A team on the upswing like Columbus could be a fit for an old friend like Korpisalo if they think he has a higher upside than Elvis Merzlikins. If the Ducks find a taker for John Gibson, adding someone like Korpisalo could be a better alternative as backup to Lukas Dostal.
Boston likely wouldn’t get much back in a Korpisalo deal, and might have to retain some of his $3 million annual cap hit in order to entice a team to take on the majority of that contract.
Still, an extra $2-2.5 million gained over the next three seasons could be redistributed elsewhere on Boston’s roster, especially if the Bruins opt to use a cheaper backup behind Swayman like Michael DiPietro.
Casey Mittelstadt ($5.75 million AAV, signed through 2026-27)
Mittelstadt is a tough player to gauge on the 2025-26 roster.
When the Bruins essentially swapped Charlie Coyle for Mittelstadt (along with prospect Will Zellers and a 2025 second-round pick), the 26-year-old center represented a change of pace from Boston’s previous roster-building efforts.
Whereas Coyle was more of a puck-possession, two-way center, Mittelstadt represented the higher-skilled pivot that the Bruins were trying to add to their roster, especially in the midst of a year where offense was hard to come by.
Mittelstadt didn’t exactly stuff the stat sheet in his first foray with Boston (six points, minus-17 rating in 18 games). Granted, his most common linemates to close out the year were also Cole Koepke and Vinni Lettieri.
The Bruins might think there’s more there with a young center in Mittelstadt, who also had two 50-plus-point seasons on his resume. If the Bruins were to add a scoring winger in free agency like Boeser (a fellow Minnesota native), Mittelstadt’s contract could end up being good value if he becomes a solid playmaking 2C.
But if there are some reservations about Mittelstadt’s game, or the Bruins just believe that they can make use of that money elsewhere, the center could also be dangled as a trade chip this summer.
Much like Korpisalo, it remains to be seen if the Bruins would actually net something of top value for an unproven product like Mittelstadt, with the cap savings standing as the top reward for Boston.
The Bruins might like Mittelstadt’s upside and playmaking touch. But if moving his contract allows them to sign a potential 30-goal scorer like Ehlers, Mittelstadt could be redundant on a team that already has a glut of middle-six centers in place on its roster.
Pavel Zacha ($4.75 million AAV through 2026-27)
If the Bruins are both trying to create cap space AND get a useful asset back in a trade, Zacha is the type of versatile middle-six asset (on a great contract) that several teams would love to take off of Boston’s hands.
A mock draft from The Athletic earlier this month even had Boston securing the Canucks’ first-round pick (No. 15) in a swap centered around the 28-year-old Zacha.
If the Bruins’ top priority is accumulating more draft picks, they should have no issue finding a suitor for Zacha.
But even if the Bruins might be a few years away from reestablishing themselves as a legitimate contender, Zacha still holds plenty of value for Boston both in the present and potentially in the future.
Zacha has been a versatile regular in Boston’s lineup since joining the team in 2022-23, surpassing 50 points in two of his three seasons with the Bruins. He was hindered at times by a nagging knee injury this past year, but still played in all 82 games while scoring 14 goals and 47 points.
On a roster in flux, Zacha’s ability to both play center or on the wing also makes him a useful cog for Sturm moving forward.
Zacha might be Boston’s best bet this summer when it comes to both shedding money and potentially gaining another first-round pick (or blue-chip prospect).
But his presence would be missed on a Bruins team that also needs some stability in place after a sizable roster overhaul.
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