Even after the trade that dumped Taylor Hall and his $6 million contract on the Blackhawks, math remained the top rival of Don Sweeney and the Bruins ahead of Saturday’s start of free agency.
Left with $10.9 million and change to fill out the remainder of their roster following the Hall trade, the Bruins made the call Friday to create even more cap space, and placed defenseman Mike Reilly on waivers for the purpose of a buyout.
The Bruins are buying out the final year of Mike Reilly's contract. The buyout will free up $2.66M in cap space for 2023-24, $1.33M penalty in 2024-25.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) June 30, 2023
Word of the Reilly buyout, which will keep Reilly on Boston’s books for an extra season, came just moments before the 12 p.m. deadline that the Bruins were facing on the first buyout window.
Mar 15, 2022; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Mike Reilly (6) practices before the game against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center. (Mike Dinovo/USA TODAY Sports)
On the wrong end of a numbers game really since the Bruins acquired Hampus Lindholm from the Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline, Reilly’s buyout comes following a 2022-23 campaign that saw him unable to stick with the Bruins upon Charlie McAvoy’s return to the lineup following offseason shoulder surgery.
Waived down to Providence two times (and unclaimed both times), Reilly and his $3 million cap hit spent the majority of the season in the AHL, where he tallied seven goals and 26 points in 36 games with Providence.
While in Providence, the Bruins did what they could to showcase the 29-year-old Reilly to the rest of the league, and while the in-person viewings racked up, nobody bit when it came to taking Reilly off the Bruins’ hands.
Acquired ahead of the 2021 trade deadline, and in a trade that saw the Bruins send a 2022 third-round pick to the Senators, Reilly put up four goals and 26 points in 95 games with the Bruins over the course of three seasons.
Reilly was certainly at his best upon his move from Ottawa to Boston, too, and finished the pandemic-delayed 2021 season with 27 assists in 55 games with the B’s and Sens. That was enough for the Bruins buy in on Reilly, as they signed the 6-foot-1 defender to a three-year, $9 million ahead of the 2021 offseason.
The left-shooting defenseman has recorded 12 goals and 98 points in 339 career NHL games between the Wild, Canadiens, Senators, and Bruins.
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – NOVEMBER 09: Mike Reilly #6 of the Boston Bruins and Connor Clifton #75 talk during the second period against the Ottawa Senators at TD Garden on November 09, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Buying out the final year of Reilly’s contract will come with a dead cap hit of just $333,333, meaning that the Bruins have gained $2.66 million in extremely valuable cap space for the start of free agency. The ‘penalty’ of that buyout will be felt in 2024-25, however, with Reilly set to come with a dead cap hit charge of $1.33 million next season.
That is not a gigantic issue for the Bruins, however, as the Bruins are set to have more than enough cap space to withstand such a hit in 2024-25. The Bruins are also unlikely to have the bonus overage they had this year, with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci accounting for almost all of Boston’s $4.5 million in bonus overages this season.
Overall, the Reilly buyout leaves the Bruins with $13.6 million in projected space to build out their NHL roster for 2023-24, and with six forwards, six defensemen, and one goalie currently signed.
Assuming the Bruins go with your standard ‘full’ NHL roster with at 13 forwards, seven defensemen, and two goalies, that leaves Sweeney & Co. with about $1.51 million to spend per vacancy. Players such as restricted free agents Trent Frederic and Jeremy Swayman, both of whom are due substantial raises, will certainly bump that dollar-per-vacancy figure down, but the Bruin are expected to bring in more than a few players at or close to league minimum.
The Bruins can officially begin to make moves with free agents at 12 p.m. this Saturday.
