By Matt Dolloff, 985TheSportsHub.com
The Boston Bruins announced on Tuesday that they’ve agreed to terms on a two-year extension with defenseman Brandon Carlo. His new deal will carry an annual cap hit of $2.85 million.
Carlo, 22, emerged as one of the Bruins’ top defenders in the 2018-19 season. He played key defensive roles throughout the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, giving the Bruins a rock-solid option to contain dynamic forwards on the back-end. It’s possible that GM Don Sweeney still considers Carlo part of the team’s long-term plans.
Ultimately, Carlo and Charlie McAvoy will cost a combined $7.75 million against the cap for the next two seasons (McAvoy’s extension is for three years.) Like McAvoy, Carlo will remain a restricted free agent at the end of the contract.
The McAvoy and Carlo contracts help bridge both players to more lucrative extensions when the Bruins have the opportunity to do so, which they can’t accomplish in their current cap crunch. According to Cap Friendly, the contracts leave the B’s with just over $1.15 million in space.
However, with David Backes coming off the books in two years and Torey Krug possibly departing after 2019-20 as a free agent, Sweeney will have plenty of space to iron out fair-market deals for his young talent. Jake DeBrusk and Matt Grzelcyk will be up for contracts after the upcoming season, so Sweeney isn’t totally out of the woods yet as far as working out deals that keep him under the cap without jettisoning more expensive contracts.
But fortunately for the Bruins, they get to keep their talented, versatile young defensive corps intact for at least a couple more seasons.
Matt Dolloff is a digital producer for 985TheSportsHub.com. Any opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect those of 98.5 The Sports Hub, Beasley Media Group, or any subsidiaries. Have a news tip, question, or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff or email him at matthew.dolloff@bbgi.com.