(Photo Credit: Adam Glanzman / Getty Images)

By: Lauren Spencer | Follow Me on Twitter: @laurenspenc

On the eve of the start of Free Agency, the Boston Bruins made more moves today to determine what the lineup will look like come next season. The team sent out qualifying offers to nine of their restricted free agents in addition to buying out the final year of Mike Reilly’s contract.

While there are still huge gaps to be filled with little cap space to work with, the buyout of defenseman Mike Reilly will help make room. Reilly had one year left on a three-year contract worth $9,000,000. By buying him out, the Bruins will free up $2,660,000 in cap space this season. Next season this buyout will carry a cap penalty of $1,330,000. After this transaction, the Bruins will have approximately $12.6M in cap space.

Reilly, the 29-year-old defenseman, spent the majority of the 2022-2023 season with the Providence Bruins. He had 26 points in 36 games with Providence, scoring seven goals and nineteen assists. Though the Bruins could not find room for him in the lineup, he can be a valuable asset to teams in the market for a veteran defenseman.

In addition to buying out Reilly, the Bruins made qualifying offers to nine of their restricted free agents. Michael DiPietro, Trent Frederic, Kyle Keyser, Jakub Lauko, Marc McLaughlin, Ian Mitchell, Alec Regula, Jeremy Swayman, and Reilly Walsh were the players to receive these qualifying offers. The only restricted free agents to not receive offers were Samuel Asselin and Kai Wissmann.

Swayman and Frederic were both full-time roster players in Boston this season, with both coming off of career-best seasons. Swayman was one half of the Jennings Trophy-winning goalie tandem, accounting for 24 wins and a .920 SV%. Frederic also performed at a career-high this season, scoring 17 goals and 14 assists. At only 25 years old, the 6-foot-3 forward has the potential to continue growing into a well-rounded player. Having both players return to the Boston lineup next year will be a benefit to the team.

Though today’s moves help shape the future, the Bruins will have to continue maneuvering through their difficult cap situation when determining the roster for next season. As questions still surround Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci, and Tyler Bertuzzi, Don Sweeney will have his work cut out for him in the coming months.