Bruins Pending Free Agents: What Could They Cost?

Summer is approaching, and the Boston Bruins have some decisions to make with their pending free agents. 

AFP Analytics released contract projections for nine Bruins free agents, all of whom played in at least one NHL game this season, giving an idea of where the market may stand going into the offseason. 

Several depth players in Providence are also on expiring contracts. 

Three listed players are unrestricted free agents (UFA), and two are restricted free agents (RFA). The other four projections are Group 6-UFAs (UFA-G6), meaning they are 25 or older, have played less than 80 career games, and played more than three professional seasons. 

There are more Bruins, such as Fabian Lysell and Patrick Brown, who are due for new contracts this summer but were not included in the contract projections. Neither of them dressed for a game with Boston in the 2025-26 season. 

The NHL’s salary cap ceiling is $104,000,000 for next season, up from $95,500,000 in 2025-26. The Bruins have $15,415,417 of cap space going into the summer, according to PuckPedia. 

Don Sweeney and Cam Neely know there is work to do this summer. This past season was just the start. They talked about adding speed and skill, and they also tried to find a long-term right-handed defenseman in January. 

And the free agent market is thin this summer. 

If Viktor Arvidsson will sign a two-year deal at this cap hit, get pen to paper immediately. 

The Bruins made a quick trade before free agency opened last year and turned a fifth-round pick into a 25-goal scorer. Arvidsson became the first Bruin to score 25 goals in his first season with the team since Jarome Iginla in 2013-14. He fit in seamlessly with Casey Mittelstadt and Pavel Zacha on the second line, finishing with the league’s third-best goal differential. 

He fit into Marco Sturm’s scheme, and Sturm was a big fan from their prior time together. Sturm called Arvidsson a “weasel” and praised the way he gets into the dirty areas. He used Arvidsson’s net-front presence as an example for other players. 

On breakup day, Arvidsson opened up about his future with the Bruins. He said there are “a lot of areas that need to be figured out with my family and stuff like that,” but added he “had so much fun” playing in Boston. 

Right-handed defensemen are a need, not just in Boston but throughout the league. Don Sweeney tried addressing it in January by trading for Rasmus Andersson, but after he balked at an extension, the Bruins walked away. 

The Bruins played their cards, showing they are searching for a top-four replacement.

Andrew Peeke fits the need on the right side and was brought in at the 2024 trade deadline to provide depth, size, and speed. He was in the first season of a three-year contract, and now he is due for another one this summer. 

Even though he scored five goals this season, his most in a single season in Boston, his game in the second half dipped, and he finished with the lowest plus-minus on the team by five. He did improve in the postseason, but if the Bruins are looking to make a splash on the right side, Peeke may be finding a new home come July. 

Jordan Harris, the Northeastern alum and Haverhill native, signed a one-year deal with the Bruins last summer. It was a low-risk, high-reward move by the Bruins that, unfortunately, did not pan out due to injuries. However, Harris is a restricted free agent, and there seemingly is nothing to lose by offering him a qualifying offer, which matches the AFP projection.

A new contract allows the Bruins another chance to look at Harris, who is still 24 and can play a two-way game on the blue line. He scored once, coming way back in October against the Lightning. He also scored his first career AHL goal this season, coming on his conditioning stint in late January. 

• Matej Blümel, LW (UFA-G6)

Blümel joined the Bruins last summer, coming off a season where he led the AHL in goals (39). He signed a one-year deal worth $875,000, looking for a fresh opportunity, but did not crack the lineup out of training camp. He played in just four games with Boston this season, ending with a lower-body injury in November. Blümel played 58 games with Providence, totaling 52 points (21-31–52), and is currently with Team Czechia at the IIHF World Championships. 

• Michael Callahan, LHD (UFA-G6)

Michael Callahan played in 17 games last season and signed a one-year extension worth $775,000. He only appeared in five games this season, all coming before the holiday break in December. He scored twice and had 16 points in 56 games with Providence this season, and now the Franklin, MA, native is due for another contract. 

• Georgii Merkulov, LW (UFA-G6)

Georgii Merkulov did not make it to the Bruins’ roster out of training camp and was not claimed on waivers in the aftermath. He only played in one game this season, where he skated in 10:35 and finished with a minus-one rating. And, for the fourth straight season, he led the P-Bruins in scoring (24-37–61). He is now the franchise’s all-time leading scorer with 240 points (94-146–240). 

After Merkulov’s only game in Boston (a 6-2 loss), Marco Sturm acknowledged that it was tough to jump into the lineup with no prior practice or morning skate.

• Matthew Poitras, C (RFA)

Matthew Poitras, the Bruins’ second-round pick in the 2022 draft, is a restricted free agent. He played in three games with Boston this season, most notably scoring at the Stadium Series in Tampa. This year, he had 13 goals and 44 points in Providence, and added four more points (1-3–4) in four playoff games. He has played three seasons with the organization, totaling 69 games and 27 points (7-20–27). 

Poitras changed his agent during the season, but he told WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin that it was “nothing really to read into.” Poitras is due a qualifying offer of $813,750. 

• Victor Söderström, RHD (UFA-G6)

Victor Söderström, acquired last June for Ryan Mast and a sixth-round pick, came back to North America after winning the Borje Salming Award for best defenseman in the SHL. He started in Providence, got eight games with Boston, and finished the year in Providence. 

The Bruins’ depth chart runs thin on the right side of the blue line. It takes another hit as Johan Svensson and Mattias Persson of Expressen reported that Söderström is eyeing a return to Europe. He has been linked to EHC Biel-Bienne in Switzerland. 

• Riley Tufte, LW (UFA)

Riley Tufte, who signed a one-year extension with the Bruins on July 1, 2025, played in four games with Boston this season. He scored a power play goal, tapping in a puck during garbage time in a 3-1 loss to the Hurricanes. 

The 6-foot-6 forward scored 32 goals for the P-Bruins, leading the team, and his 56 points were second on the team. All of his numbers this season are professional career-highs, furthering his case to stick around with the Bruins organization. 

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