Next Man Up: Boston Pursuit of NHL Supremacy Continues with More Big Moves on the Horizon

Mark Kastelic was excited to sign a three-year contract extension with the Boston Bruins recently that essentially doubled his income annually.

“I’m over the moon, right from the minute I got here, it has felt like family, Boston’s felt like home,” said Kastelic after inking a deal with Boston for an annual cap hit of $1,567,000. The impending restricted free agent, who was acquired in a trade back in June that involved goaltender Linus Ullmark, avoided having to go to arbitration with the Bruins in the offseason and gives the Bruins a steady bottom-six center who will stick up for his teammates and help to create a culture of toughness and physicality in the coming years.

Kastelic has registered four goals and eight assists in 41 games this season. The 6-foot-4, 228-pound forward jumped out to a hot start offensively but has cooled off considerably since. The extension was not a surprise, but maybe the annual value, term, and timing of the contract were a little puzzling. Kastelic has been a nice surprise and has provided the Bruins with a forward who can skate, fight, and provide a little bit of offense from the fourth line. However, typically fourth-line players do not see three-year commitments and they certainly do not sign three-year extensions in January when their status is restricted. The Bruins had control over contract negotiations and would probably have avoided any mediation with a one-year deal. Giving Kastelic three years shows that the team is investing in the 25-year-old and would expect even more from him.

The Bruins are a team that has not invested as much money in offense as they have in defense and goaltending. The one glaring need on the team is a point-producing forward, particularly at center. One knock on General Manager Don Sweeney is his affinity for bottom-six forwards. In the offseason, Sweeney signed forwards Riley Tufte and Max Jones, with minor league players Riley Duran, Trevor Kuntar, and John Farinacci all close to getting a crack at the NHL lineup. Neither Tufte nor Jones lasted long on the Bruins roster. John Beecher is another restricted free agent on the fourth line and Justin Brazeau, who has scored ten goals on the season, is an unrestricted free agent this summer. The question will be who gets the next contract extension and which players will be playing in different sweaters next season. Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie are also free agents at the end of the year. Frederic has had a disappointing season while Geekie has caught fire of late.

Overall, the signing of Kastelic makes sense. However, Kastelic will have to show his true value over the next three years, or there will be criticism over the amount of commitment in years the Bruins made with the 2019 fifth-round draft pick. The Bruins will need some significant additions at the trade deadline and in the offseason. Who on this current roster will be retained out of the players listed above? Maybe not many, if any at all.