Updated Bruins roster projections following free agent signing of Jesper Boqvist originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins signed another forward to their roster during the first weeks of NHL free agency.
The B’s announced on Wednesday the signing of center Jesper Boqvist to a one-way, one-year contract with a salary cap of $775,000. He will be a restricted free agent when the deal expires.
Boqvist played 70 games for the New Jersey Devils last season and scored 10 goals with 11 assists. He had 10 goals and 13 assists in 56 games for the Devils in 2021-22. Boqvist did poorly in faceoffs last season (33.2 winning percentage), but he’s gifted and strong enough to play center. He can also play on the wing. Some of his defensive moves were impressive in 2022-23, so there’s a two-way advantage with this signing.
Boqvist has shown flashes of exciting potential, but has yet to consistently implement it at the NHL level. Given his talent and age (24), it’s worth betting on a breakout year for Boqvist for the Bruins, especially with a salary cap below $1 million. The Bruins will need all the center depth they can get if Patrice Bergeron and/or David Krejci drop out.
The Bruins took a chance on fellow Devils player Pavel Zacha in a trade last summer. Will they have the same success with Boqvist? Time will tell us.
The Bruins have just $5.43 million in cap space remaining, per CapFriendly. They still need to sign Trent Frederic (RFA), Jeremy Swayman (RFA) and possibly Bergeron (UFA) before next season.
Here’s an updated projection of the Bruins forward roster at this point in the offseason.
Attackers
Brad Marchand – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk
James van Riemsdyk–Pavel Zacha–David Pastrnak
Jakub Lauko–Trent Frederic–Morgan Geekie
Milan Lucic — Patrick Brown — AJ Greer
Other options: Marc McLaughlin, Fabian Lysell, Johnny Beecher, Georgii Merkulov, Jesper Boqvist