Daniel Paille re-signs with Bruins for 2 years

So far the Bruins have laid low on the the first day of NHL free agency, but they did make a minor move re-signing forward Daniel Paille to a 2-year deal worth $2.15 million ($1 million next year and $1.15 million in '11-'12.

Peter Chiarelli and the Bruins did not offer Paille a qualifying offering, but continued to negotiate with him and his agent J.P. Barry. If the Bruins had extended a qualifying offer to Paille, they would have been forced to offer at least $1.35 million per year. Letting Paille become an unrestricted free agent allowed the team to save at least $555,000. Unfortunately, the savings will not translate to a cap savings. Although Paille's salary last season was $1.35 million, his cap hit was $1.014 million. Paille's cap hit will be $1.075 million for each of the next two seasons.

Overall, I like this move. Just over $1 million is not much to pay for a solid role player like Paille, who can kill penalties and put the puck in the back of the net 10-15 times a year. Chiarelli played it right by waiting it out.

The Bruins also picked up a 3rd round pick in the 2011 draft. Since Derek Morris re-signed with the Phoenix Coyotes (4 years, $11 million), the Bruins acquired the rights to the Coyotes' 3rd round pick in next year's NHL Entry Draft. The Bruins originally had the rights to the Coyote's 4th round pick, with the condition that the 4th rounder would turn into a 3rd round pick if Morris re-signed.