Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has warned everybody that the Bruins will not be the same team next season.

And trust me, he means it.

Hit with $4.5 million in bonus overage penalties, and watching David Pastrnak’s cap hit nearly double on his new, big-money extension, the Bruins are cash strapped. Like ‘ya read about. The Bruins outright admitted that they wouldn’t have the money to re-sign many of their pending unrestricted free agents without making other moves.

Those moves file under what Sweeney called “cap flexibility.” In other words, they’re going to have to begin the process of stripping away pieces from the best regular-season team in league history to become cap compliant and ice a roster.

But who does that list include?

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• Charlie Coyle

  

  Apr 6, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) reacts after scoring a game tying goal during the third period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Currently on the books to be Boston’s fourth-highest paid forward in 2023-24, some would look to big-bodied center Charlie Coyle and his $5.25 million cap hit as a cost-cutting move the Bruins should explore.

  The initial logic behind that decision would be that you shouldn’t pay a third-line center that much money. Now, conversely, I would remind you that the Coyle contract isn’t nearly as bad as many make it out to be. Coyle was the 116th-highest paid forward in the league last year, and was one of just 92 forwards to record at least 40 even-strength points a year ago. That’s solid value, all things considered, especially as contracts around the league continue to move upwards.

  The Bruins also changed how Coyle was deployed — the B’s upped his penalty-kill usage (and for the best PK in the league during the regular season) and asked him to take on more of a shutdown role — and they loved the results. I think that’s important to note, but it’s especially important to note with the uncertainty hanging over Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci.

  B’s brass also liked what they saw from Coyle when they had to elevate him into a top-line role with Bergeron and Krejci both unavailable during the Black and Gold’s two-game sweep of Florida in Games 3 and 4.

  In other words, Coyle seems unlikely to be a trade candidate for the Bruins despite their cap squeeze. Coyle, who is signed through 2025-26, also has a modified no-trade clause that comes with an eight-team no-trade list through 2025.

• Jake DeBrusk

  

  Mar 19, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) reacts after scoring a goal during the first period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports)

• Things are about to get interesting between Jake DeBrusk and the Bruins.

  It’s been about a year now since DeBrusk and the Bruins got back on the same page and DeBrusk rescinded his trade request. It’s a resolution that’s worked out for both sides, really, as DeBrusk found a solid home to the right of Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on Boston’s top line. In the ‘RW1’ spot since late February 2022, DeBrusk has scored 43 goals (43rd-most in hockey since Feb. 24, 2022) and 75 points (118th-most) in 96 games in a top-line role.

  But DeBrusk, who signed a two-year extension worth $4 million per season late last season, is also a year away from hitting unrestricted free agency, and the Bruins need to make a call on him and his future in town. Do the Bruins want to invest in DeBrusk at $6 million per year on a long-term deal, or is DeBrusk someone they’re looking at as a ‘sell high’ candidate? Personally, I’d lean that their thinking is more in the former than the latter. But if it’s not, it would make sense to flip DeBrusk in the now and recoup some of the draft capital that’s been lost over the last half-decade of runs at keeping the window open.

  That said, DeBrusk at $4 million per year is strong value for the Bruins, and if there’s one thing the cost-cutting Bruins shouldn’t do when they’re this tight against the cap, it’s move fair-priced contracts.

• Trent Frederic

  

  BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – JANUARY 14: Trent Frederic #11 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the first period against the Toronto Maple Leafs at TD Garden on January 14, 2023 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

• What happens with Trent Frederic is going to be one of the more interesting offseason decisions for the Bruins.

  An arbitration-eligible restricted free agent, Frederic is aware that he doesn’t have many (if any) options when it comes to his next move with the Bruins. He repeatedly stressed that he’s not worried about that and that “he’ll leave it to his agent,” but Frederic has also put himself in position for what would be a considerable raise from the $1.05 million cap hit he’s skated on for the last two seasons. A question for the Bruins, though, is do they wanna be the ones to give him that raise?

  Frederic, by all accounts, had an excellent 2022-23 season. The St. Louis native was actually only one of just two players to score at least 17 goals while averaging less than 12 minutes of time on ice per night (Seattle’s Daniel Sprong was the other). But his career-high 17 goals also came with a career-high 14.2 percent (6.1 percent higher than his previous career high), and he scored four more five-on-five goals than his individual expected goals. The Bruins could always expand Frederic’s role with some power-play time, but these numbers almost certainly point to a regression of some sort moving forward.

  A first-round pick in 2016, the Bruins have spent an absolute ton of time developing Frederic into what he is today, and they’ve stuck with him through highs and lows, and they may very well remain committed to that process.

  But if they look at their cap situation and fail to think Frederic is worthy of all these other cost-cutting moves they’ll have to make to fit him in (somewhere between $2.5 and $3.5 million seems reasonable for Frederic on an extension), Frederic could be a player flipped for futures or someone younger in the name of getting more bang for their buck elsewhere.

  This is a different kind of cost cutting, I admit, but it would still be cost cutting all the same.

• Taylor Hall

  

  Apr 8, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Taylor Hall (71) skates with the puck during the third period against the New Jersey Devils at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Bruins winger Taylor Hall is a name you’ll hear a lot this summer, I imagine.

  At first glance, he just seems like the most obvious candidate for the Bruins to move if they want to maximize the money out the door, and especially if they’d want to use those savings on keeping a Tyler Bertuzzi or Dmitry Orlov (both of whom are pending free agents) in town.

  Midway through a four-year deal that comes with a $6 million cap hit, Hall spent the majority of his 2022-23 campaign in a third-line role for the Bruins, and finished with 16 goals and 36 points in 61 games. Part of that was Hall sacrificing his own numbers in the name of team success (he completely bought in on playing third-line minutes and in more of a two-way role), and you saw Hall come alive in the postseason, as he was one of Boston’s best forwards from start to finish and finished with five goals (tied for the team lead) and eight points during Boston’s seven-game series loss to the Panthers.

  And assuming this is the end of the road for David Krejci, which feels like a legitimate possibility based on how he spoke at the end of the year, Hall would seemingly have a chance to move back into a top-six role next season, likely as the left wing on a second line featuring Pavel Zacha at center and David Pastrnak at right wing. And for a team that’s going to have to suffer through a year of salary cap hell, that’s really not the most second line to have on your roster.

  That is, of course, assuming he is not one of the top names on Sweeney’s ‘cap flexibility’ gameplan.

  Two things of note when it comes to potentially moving Hall: He still has trade protection, with a 10-team no-trade list for 2023-24. This upcoming season is also Hall’s most expensive season in terms of real dollars vs. cap hit, with Hall set to make $7.25 million between a $1 million signing bonus and a $6.25 million base salary. If there’s one thing the last few seasons have taught us, it’s that moving contracts with expensive real dollar amounts are awfully tricky in a hard-capped league.

• Brandon Carlo

  

  Mar 4, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo (25) shoots the puck during the first period against the New York Rangers at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Let me acknowledge that I am of the belief that the Bruins view Brandon Carlo as a piece of their core moving forward.

  Speaking at his year-end press conference, Sweeney seemed to like the idea of Carlo, Charlie McAvoy, and Hampus Lindholm being the B’s backend building blocks for the foreseeable future. (And it helps that they’re all locked up long term.) Let me also acknowledge that that alone would tell you that the 6-foot-5 Carlo is an unlikely candidate to be moved this summer. But almost all bets may be off this summer given the Bruins’ impending cap crunch, and if that’s indeed the case, a defenseman who is the clear No. 3 among that aforementioned defensive core and making $4.1 million per season is a guy that’ll make this list.

  Another player who seemed to playing some of his best hockey upon the switch from Bruce Cassidy to Jim Montgomery, Carlo finished the 2022-23 season with three goals and 16 points. His 16 points were just three from matching a career-high of 19 set in 2019-20, and his 13 assists were just two shy of tying his career-high 15, which was also set in 2019-20. Carlo did, however, establish career-high marks in both plus-minus (plus-44) and blocked shots (116), and finished the season with a team-high 242:22 of shorthanded time on ice for a Boston penalty kill that ranked first in the NHL.

  If the Bruins were to move Carlo, who has another four years left on his current deal and has a modified no-trade kicking in this year, you’d almost have to think it would be part of an old fashioned hockey trade (think a Boston version of the Panthers-Flames trade that brought Matthew Tkachuk to Sunrise in exchange for Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar).

• Derek Forbort

  

  Nov 29, 2022; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Derek Forbort (28) watches the play during the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Let’s just be blunt here: There almost has to be some left-side shaking for the Bruins if they’re going to clear cap space this summer. I just don’t see how it remains untouched, to be honest. Organizationally, it’s one of the team’s deepest positions, and it’s where they could trim the most fat without truly killing their ability to ice a competitive product next season.

  One of those left-shot blue liners who could be on the outs this summer? Derek Forbort.

  Signed to a three-year, $9 million contract in 2021, Forbort has been the best soldier the Bruins could’ve asked for. He blocks — or tries to block — every single shot that comes his way in the defensive zone, and he’s become a penalty-killing specialist for a team that’s had an elite penalty-killing unit since he arrived here (and even before then). But Forbort is also limited in terms of what he can do and how the Bruins can deploy him. He’s not skilled enough to make it work with McAvoy on the B’s top pairing, and a second pairing that puts him next to Brandon Carlo simply isn’t mobile enough for today’s game.

  The 6-foot-4 defender, who spent his entire career in the Western Conference before joining the Bruins, is entering the last year of his contract, and does have slight trade protection, with a three-team no-trade list for the 2023-24 season.

  Something that could be of note should the Bruins try to move Forbort: Five of the league’s 12 worst penalty-killing teams from this past regular season are slated to enter the summer with at least $16 million in cap space (Anaheim, Arizona, Buffalo, Columbus, and Seattle). And of that group, the Blue Jackets seem to be the most in need of a left-shot defenseman.

• Matt Grzelcyk

  

  Mar 19, 2023; Buffalo, New York, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk (48) makes a pass during the third period against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center. (Timothy T. Ludwig/USA TODAY Sports)

• Bruins defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is in a similar boat to that of Jake DeBrusk.

  Grzelcyk is entering the final year of his current contract, which checks in at just under $3.7 million against the cap, and the Bruins need to figure out if he’s involved in their plans beyond 2023-24. Of course, the Bruins know that Grzelcyk fits with McAvoy on Boston’s top pairing, and Grzelcyk actually proved in 2022-23 that he can be successful with and without McAvoy to his right. But Grzelcyk began the B’s first-round series against a healthy scratch, was scratched again at the midway point of the series, and never really had the usage that indicated that the Bruins believed in him or trusted him out there. If that is indeed the case, the Bruins would be wise to see if they could recoup some draft capital before Grzelcyk walks as a free agent next summer.

• Mike Reilly

  

  BOSTON, MA – APRIL 13: Mike Reilly #6 of the Boston Bruins skates during the first period of a game against the Buffalo Sabres at TD Garden on April 13, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)

• If the Bruins could’ve found a suitor for Mike Reilly last summer and last fall, and even this past spring, they would’ve done it.

  A victim of a numbers game both on the ice and on the salary cap chart, the 29-year-old Reilly hit the waiver wire two times in 2022-23, and went unclaimed both times. On the board with just one assist in his 10-game run with Boston, Reilly put up seven goals and 26 points in 36 games in what felt like a never-ending showcase with AHL Providence.

  The big problem with moving Reilly’s contract: The term. Reilly still had another year left on his deal, and even sellers don’t want to bite on that until they absolutely have to in the name of buying low and selling high at the nearest deadline. It’s worth wondering if there’s a rebuilder out there who wants to take a flier on Reilly now that he’s in a contract year. Especially when you consider that the Bruins would happily shed the contract for ‘future considerations’ at this point. It could be a found money should a team take the Bruins up on that and then flip Reilly for a mid-tier draft pick or prospect at next year’s trade deadline.

  If the Bruins are unable to find a taker for Reilly on the trade market, a buyout seems like a legitimate possibility for the sides. A buyout of Reilly’s contract would come with $2.6 million in savings and a $333,333 penalty on Boston’s books in 2023-24, followed by a savings of $1.333 million and a penalty of $1.333 million in 2024-25.

• Jakub Zboril

  

  Jan 1, 2023; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Jakub Zboril (67) handles the puck during a practice day before the 2023 Winter Classic ice hockey game at Fenway Park. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• From Nov. 24 to Mar. 19 this past regular season, Bruins defenseman Jakub Zboril suited up for a grand total of three NHL games. Three. He was fully healthy the entire way, and was on the Bruins’ NHL roster throughout. That’s probably not the best way to spend $1.13 million. Now, the flip side is that that’s probably what a depth defenseman is going to cost and there’s a good chance that there’s more playing time on the table for Zboril in 2023-24. But if the Bruins are going to utilize Zboril the same way they did in 2022-23 (a late-season boost in playing time brought him up to 22 appearances by the end of the season), it makes absolutely no sense to have him on your roster at that price.

• Linus Ullmark

  

  Mar 21, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins goaltender Linus Ullmark (35) in goal during the second period against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden. (Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports)

• Would the Bruins really trade their Vezina-caliber goaltender this summer? It’s a legitimate question that at one point seemed downright ludicrous, but when it comes to potentially trading Linus Ullmark, what are the alternatives and do they net you as much as Ullmark could on the trade market? I think that we can all agree that Ullmark’s value will never be higher, and unfortunately for the Bruins, that’s on a collision course with Jeremy Swayman needing a new contract. Ullmark at $5 million per year is a bargain, and a contract that could very well net the Bruins a first-round pick. That’d be awfully hard to say no to for a Bruins team that’s shipped out first-round picks like they’re candy. On the other side of the coin, the Bruins are not afraid to spend big money in the crease if they feel the tandem is worth it (see: the Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak years).

  Worth mentioning that Ullmark’s contract does morph from a full no-move clause to a 16-team no-trade list this year.

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  SUNRISE, FL – APRIL 21: Teammates congratulate Goaltender Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins after the 4-2 win against the Florida Panthers in Game Three of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at FLA Live Arena. (Joel Auerbach/Getty Images)

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