Bruins make two signings with free agency looming

Fresh off a seven-player draft this weekend, Don Sweeney and the Bruins took care of two of their pending free agents Sunday.

Up front, the Bruins and Marat Khusnutdinov came to terms on a two-year contract with a $925,000 average annual value, while defenseman Michael Callahan was inked to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775,000.

Acquired from Minnesota in the deal that sent Justin Brazeau to the Wild near the trade deadline, the 22-year-old Khusnutdinov finished his season with three goals and two assists in 18 games for the Black and Gold.

It was a positive finish to Khusnutdinov's season, all things considered, after having arrived to Boston as a fourth-line piece for Minny, with two goals and seven points in 57 games and averaging just 11:14 per game.

In Boston, three changes came for the crafty Russian: One was the club moving Khusnutdinov from center to wing. Another came with the B's giving Khusnutdinov a notable increase in ice time (14:47, over three and a half more minutes per night than what he was averaging in Minnesota), and perhaps most importantly was their decision to deploy him in way more offensive-zone situations than he ever got during his time with the Wild.

“Perfect," Khusnutdinov, who was a second-round pick (No. 37 overall) of the Wild back in 2020, said at the end of the season when asked about his comfort in Boston. "Guys helped me. Our coaches helped me. Feels great here.

"It’s a little bit of a different system. It’s so fast."

There's definitely more offense to be squeezed out of Khusnutdinov, who has great speed and some tremendous vision around the high-danger areas of the offensive zone (though he should utilize his shot more with more attacking zone reps), and now comes Marco Sturm and the B's squeezing that out of him.

Callahan, meanwhile, is sticking around after making 17 NHL appearances for Boston this past season. Over that 17-game run, Callahan posted one goal, along with eight hits and 12 blocks, while averaging 14:09 per game.

The 6-foot-2 defender, who hails from Franklin, Mass., was a pending Group 6 unrestricted free agent and could be in line to replace pending unrestricted free agent Parker Wotherspoon as the Black and Gold's seventh defenseman.

In the B's organization since 2022, Callahan has also totaled seven goals and 36 points in 185 games for AHL Providence over the last four seasons, and had a career-best plus-3 rating in 45 games for the Baby B's last season.