Hello and happy Friday!
NHL free agency begins at noon and there have been plenty of rumors and reports as it relates to the Bruins.
For the latest updates throughout the day, follow along below. We will try to keep this to news that relates to the Bruins or might interest Bruins fans.
11PM: As we wrap up Day 1 of free agency, Krug is gone, and now the hottest rumor as it relates to the Bruins is Taylor Hall. As we mentioned earlier, Elliotte Friedman reported that Boston was one of as many as 25 teams that showed interest in the top free agent forward on Friday.
Later in the night, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period reported that he has heard the Bruins made a "short-term offer" to Hall.
Hall is said to be weighing offers overnight and into the weekend, and could make his decision in the next day or so. He has said he is prioritizing winning over money and years and that he would be open to something shorter-term, although he is certainly expected to have longer-term offers as well.
The Bruins currently have a little under $15 million in cap space, so they can certainly make a serious run at Hall or top defenseman Alex Pietrangelo if they want. Hall would provide a significant boost to the Bruins' top six and give them that other consistent scoring winger after Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak that they have been seeking.
8:30PM: The Torey Krug era in Boston is over. Krug has signed a seven-year deal with the St. Louis Blues. Read more about it here.
7:15PM: Divisional rival Toronto has landed one of the top five defensemen on the market, reportedly signing former Calgary Flame TJ Brodie to a four-year deal with an annual cap hit of $5 million.
The Maple Leafs also signed forward Wayne Simmonds earlier in the day and now have literally no cap space left.
5:30PM: Elliotte Friedman said on NHL Network that the Bruins are one of as many as 25 teams that have shown interest in top free agent forward Taylor Hall. There have been a couple other rumors to that effect that have surfaced on Twitter, too, some suggesting the Bruins may even be one of the favorites.
Jason Gregor of TSN 1260 in Edmonton reports that Hall isn't expected to make a decision on Friday and that it will likely come some time over the weekend.
A couple weeks ago, we took a look at the possibility of the Bruins signing Hall and why it might not be as crazy as it sounds. You can read that here while we wait for a decision.
4:45PM - The Bruins have made a move, reportedly re-signing defenseman Kevan Miller. Read more about the move here.
4:15PM - We have a Zdeno Chara update. TSN's Pierre LeBrun says he talked to Zdeno Chara's agent, who says "numerous teams" have reached out about Chara today, but that Chara will "take his time" and is "in no hurry to make any decision."
Chara had made it clear earlier this offseason that he wanted to stay in Boston. Bruins GM Don Sweeney said this week that he had been in communication with Chara's camp and would continue to be. It's unclear how much of an effort the Bruins have made or will make to bring him back.
3:10PM - Things have been pretty quiet in terms of the top free agent defensemen, but one of them is now off the board. Kevin Shattenkirk, fresh off winning the Stanley Cup with Tampa, is reportedly heading to Anaheim on a three-year deal with an average annual value of $3.9 million.
2:25PM - The Bruins are reportedly among the teams who have shown interest in right wing Craig Smith. Smith is just a consistently solid two-way, middle-six wing who you can pretty much pencil in for 20 goals. He could be a really nice signing depending on the cost.
1:45PM - The early part of free agency continues to be dominated by goaltending, as former Canucks goalie Jacob Markstrom is reportedly heading to Calgary, while former Bruin and current Dallas playoff hero Anton Khudobin is reportedly on the verge of a new deal with the Stars.
We're on the record saying we think a Tuukka Rask trade is unlikely anyways, but if it were going to happen, it may have to wait for the enormous free agent goalie market to shake out.
1:15PM - Arguably the biggest-name goalie (note: that's different than the best) is off the board, as Braden Holtby is reportedly heading to Vancouver on a two-year deal with an average annual value of $4.3 million.
Holtby, the 2016 Vezina winner, has declined sharply over the last few years, and it clearly cost him as this deal is a far cry from what would've been expected a year or two ago.
It's actually a fairly smart deal for the Canucks. Thatcher Demko certainly looks like a goalie who is ready to take over the No. 1 role, but Holtby provides competition, and since it's a two-year deal, they can now expose Holtby in the Seattle expansion draft next year and protect Demko. This also means Jacob Markstrom is officially going elsewhere, which was to be expected anyways.
12:40PM - According to former player Scottie Upshall, the Blues could become major players for Torey Krug if they can't find a way to keep Alex Pietrangelo.
12:20PM - First big surprise of the day: The Lightning are reportedly putting forward Tyler Johnson on waivers. Everyone knew the Lightning needed to free up some money to sign some key restricted free agents, and they were reportedly engaging teams on trade talks involving Johnson. Apparently they couldn't get anything done, and are now just waiving Johnson instead.
Meanwhile, Bobby Ryan has reportedly agreed to a one-year deal worth $1 million with Detroit. Ryan was an intriguing and cheap option as a depth forward flyer after he got bought out by the Senators, and he ends up with the Red Wings.
12PM - Free agency is now open, which means the deadline imposed by Oliver Ekman-Larsson and his agent for a trade has arrived. Sure enough, Ekman-Larsson's agent, Kevin Epp, has told Coyotes insider Craig Morgan that "time's up" and OEL is staying put. So that's that.
11:20AM - So far the big trade of the morning is Vegas trading center Paul Stastny back to Winnipeg. That may not seem to mean anything for the Bruins, but the Golden Knights are reportedly one of the teams interested in Krug, and this trade helps them clear some cap space.
It could also increase the chances that possible trade target Patrik Laine stays put with the Jets. He had good chemistry with Stastny when they were on a line together two years ago, so he might now be a happier camper.
On the free agency front, longtime Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist is reportedly expected to sign with the Capitals. Not that we ever really expected the Bruins to be a player there, but that's one goalie off the market if the Bruins did end up trading Tuukka Rask.
