Bruins take care of another restricted free agent

The Bruins are down to just one order of business when it comes to their restricted free agent class. Already having defensemen Michael Callahan and Alec Regula inked to deals late last week, Tuesday came with the signing of forward Marc McLaughlin to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775,000 at the NHL level, and has now left goaltender Jeremy Swayman as the B's last remaining restricted free agent. In the case of McLaughlin, the re-signing of the North Billerica, Mass. native comes on the heels of a 2023-24 campaign spent almost entirely in the AHL, with eight goals and 14 points in 68 games for the P-Bruins. McLaughlin also posted a minus-7 rating and 76 shots on goal over that 66-game AHL run. The right-shooting McLaughlin was also given a one-game look with Boston during the regular season, and scored a goal, along with four hits and two shots on goal, in 12:39 of action in that contest. https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1764110048165277803 Overall, the soon-to-be 25-year-old McLaughlin has totaled four goals, 21 hits, and 17 shots on goal in 14 NHL games with the Bruins over the last three seasons. For whatever it's worth, it has felt like McLaughlin has an easier pathway to NHL minutes under Bruce Cassidy than current Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery, and McLaughlin's 2024 training camp will be worth watching. Given the turnover on Boston's fourth line, there should be an opportunity for McLaughlin to carve out a potential role for himself, but at the same time, the Bruins may have already filled those spots with the additions of both Mark Kastelic and Max Jones, while Justin Brazeau's late-season surge with the NHL roster may have put him in a strong position to be a near-lock for an NHL gig.