Bruins Roster A Puzzle Not Many Can Solve

Nick Foligno, Chris Wagner and Mike Reilly are Providence bound. At least on paper, anyway.

How does a team become cap strapped? Well, bad contracts are an obvious start. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to sign an aging Nick Foligno to a 2-year, $7.6 million contract. And in hindsight, Mike Reilly’s inconsistence and relegation to the press box probably aren’t worth the 3 years and $9 million he was paid two summers ago. Chris Wagner has logged just 56 games since his contract extension ($4.05 million over 3 years) kicked in before the 2020–2021 season.

All three, placed on waivers Sunday, were loaned to Providence. Whether that’s a paper move or not remains to be seen. Boston needed to get under the NHL’s $82.5 million salary cap by Monday at 2 pm. Relegating Foligno, Reilly and Wagner to Rhode Island’s capital did just that.

Brad Marchand will likely find himself on LTIR to help clear some room, as even with the trio assigned to Providence, the B’s find themselves with just $408,333 in cap space, according to Cap Friendly. As is, they have no 13th forward and no 7th defenseman. Charlie McAvoy and Matt Grzelcyk won’t wind up on LTIR, but neither is expected back any time soon. Boston had Anton Stralman in camp on a PTO. He impressed, and they need money to sign him; albeit not much.

As for the forwards, journeyman A.J. Greer (a former Avs first round pick) and prospect Jack Studnicka have made the opening night roster. Greer flashed a physical game with a bottom-six scoring touch. Studnicka flashed — I don’t know, really. He’s scored in the OHL and the AHL, and hopefully he can recreate some of that spark in the show. To date, he’s amassed just 1 goal and 6 assists in 37 NHL games. Though that was under former bench boss Bruce Cassidy. Jim Montgomery was brought in to help assimilate younger talent into the lineup, and that mission starts with Studnicka.

Trent Frederic is in a similar boat. At some point he runs out of chances, right? He developed a flare for physicality in Providence, flashed it at the beginning of the 2020–2021 season and then Alexander Ovechkin speared him in the gnads. Since then he’s been quiet sans for a brief spurt of productivity last Spring. He needs to revert back to that physical style of play that helped him earn a shot two years ago. Otherwise there’s not much justification for keeping him in the lineup — he averaged just 4 seconds of shorthanded time on ice per game last year while putting up 8 goals and 18 points in 60 games. You’re either killing penalties or throwing your weight around in the depths of the lineup — doing neither is a quick ticket out of town.

Reilly is an offensive-minded blueliner who can move the puck with the best of them when he’s on his game. The problem has been consistently finding that game. He was a mess last year, and despite a good camp, Boston feels there’s better options in-house, otherwise he’d have avoided the waiver wire. He wasn’t claimed, and that should indicate his stock isn’t where it should be. His long-term future isn’t in Boston, and who knows where his immediate future lies. Foligno and Wagner were present at practice Monday — Reilly was not.

Wagner is Wagner. He’s not going to do much offensively, but he brings energy on the fourth line and plays bigger than his 6-foot-200-pound frame. He spent almost the entirety of last season in Providence, before dressing in Boston’s final game of the season and parlaying that into 3 postseason contests following two dispirited contests by Boston to open their postseason series against Carolina. He’s a tad expensive for a 13th forward, but of the three he’s cheapest and that might help him earn some ice time if needed. He’s 31, though, and Don Sweeney advocated for more opportunities for younger players this summer. Wagner’s impact this year will be minimal — perhaps even nonexistent. Never say never, I suppose.

Foligno the player made sense, but similar to David Backes the money was a disaster. He’s a beloved member of the room: he grinds, he skates, he hits, he does all the intangibles. He’s also a cap casualty. Which sucks. When he’s buzzing, he’s fun to watch. He’s exactly what a team looking at one last cup run needs on their fourth line. They just can’t afford a fourth liner making a shade under $4 million. I don’t know many teams who can.

He may not be gone for good. If McAvoy and Marchand go on LTIR, he may find himself back in town. Reilly, too. But they have expiration dates. When the big boys are healthy, there’s going to be a cap crunch, again. It’s tough to find takers for large(ish) contracts and sporadic production.

Sunday into Monday won’t be the final 24 hour window where the Bruins are shuffling pieces. It’ll be the first of many.

Whether that’s good or bad remains to be seen.