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Just days away from the start of NHL free agency, the Boston Bruins are a busy bunch.
The Bruins qualified six of their pending restricted free agents prior to the 5 p.m. deadline today. They are
Chris Casto,
Brian Ferlin,
Alex Khokhlachev,
Torey Krug,
Colin Miller, and
Joe Morrow. On the same note, the Bruins did
not make such offers to
Brett Connolly,
Landon Ferraro, and
Ben Sexton.
With the qualified, it’s easy to see where everyone slots into the mix. Casto and Ferlin have been part of your Providence leadership group, while Krug, Miller, and Morrow are all expected back with the big club next fall (Krug and Morrow are the obvious automatics there). It’s easy to expect Miller and Morrow to be kept in town on one or two-year deals, but Krug is the interesting one, as this might be the time for the Black and Gold to invest in Krug on a long-term basis after two one-year bridge contracts.
However, with Krug’s shoulder surgery expected to keep him on the shelf ‘til October, it’s totally plausible that the B’s and Krug opt for yet another one-year, ‘show me’ deal that Krug’s proven willing to do.
The Khokhlachev decision, while confusing to some, is an obvious play for the Bruins to keep the talented Russian’s rights within the organization, even if he’s leaving North America to go play in Russia next season. It’s similar to what the Winnipeg Jets did with Alex Burmistrov and what the St. Louis Blues have experienced with ex-Bruin center
Vladimir Sobotka these last two seasons.
Feelings change, and personnel changes, and if there’s a chance for Khokhlachev, who had scored 61 goals and totaled 171 points in 197 AHL games, returns to the National Hockey League, B’s general manager
Don Sweeney wants to make sure Boston is somehow involved in that process.
But it’s who the Bruins have opted to not qualify that’s made the story.
First, there’s Ferraro.
Nabbed as a waiver wire pickup from the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 22, the 24-year-old served as a speedy, fourth-line depth presence for the Bruins, and finished the year with five goals and 10 points in 58 games played. Ferraro was not a game-changing presence for the Bruins, but served as an obvious upgrade to guys like Zac Rinaldo and Max Talbot, even if by just the slimmest of margins. Ferraro also seemed to gel with
Noel Acciari on the B’s late-season incarnation of a fourth line that featured more skill than brawn, with Ferraro as the winger opposite a Connolly or Frank Vatrano.
The decision to let Ferraro (potentially) walk as a free agent this summer isn’t exactly terrible considering the fact that the Bruins paid nothin’ to get him, but it’s still a little odd given the fact that Ferraro seemed to be a player that head coach
Claude Julien trusted and would utilize as his Danny Paille 2.0, a player that would skate on his fourth line at best, but could be an in-game fill-in on the third or second line if the team lost a player to an injury, or if Julien wanted to send a message.
Then there’s Connolly.
The Bruins thought they had acquired some serious untapped potential in Connolly when they made a late-night deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning in Mar. 2014. Connolly, in the midst of a season that featured 12 goals and 15 points in 50 games in a third-line role with the Bolts, was a former sixth overall choice in 2010, and was a right-handed, quick-shooting winger that B’s needed on their right side. But things didn’t pan out for Connolly off the bat, as a broken finger suffered in a practice of all things, put the 24-year-old on the shelf for all but the last five games of the regular season.
Then came 71-game 2015-16 campaign that brought just nine goals and 25 points to the table, even with most of those 71 games coming with Connolly as a winger on Boston’s first line with
Patrice Bergeron and winger
Brad Marchand. You saw what Connolly could bring to the table in spurts -- he had an impressive October run that featured four goals and six points in six games played -- but the consistency just never came about. And while frustration grew within Connolly himself and a desperate Boston coaching staff, it was clear that Connolly’s struggles were never for a lack of trying.
It’s honestly incredibly tough for me to recall a season in which a guy hit so many posts or crossbars, or was just denied by great goaltending play as often as Connolly was throughout the regular season. But the near-goals and misses added up, and it became impossible for Connolly to validate his game as being worthy of the two second-round picks the Bruins sent to Tampa Bay two years ago.
Still, the decision to let one of your few NHL right-wingers on the roster -- David Pastrnak and Jimmy Hayes are the other two -- walk for nothing is interesting, and would lead you to believe that the Bruins have a plan to make some serious upgrades to the position via the free agency market this weekend.
The Bruins could of course still sign both Connolly and Ferraro, just to lesser numbers than a qualifying offer, but now the door is open for other teams to inquire on their services.
Ty Anderson has been covering the National Hockey League for HockeyBuzz.com since 2010, has been a member of the Pro Hockey Writers Association's Boston Chapter since 2013, and can be contacted on Twitter, or emailed at Ty.AndersonHB[at]gmail.com.
Boston Bruins Blogger •Bruins Feature Columnist • 
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