The Bruins are right up against the cap and GM Peter Chiarelli has some difficult decisions to make in the next few weeks. Let's take a look at the Bruins current salary cap situation.
| Cap Hit (millions) | |
| Marc Savard | $5.000 |
| Patrice Bergeron | $4.750 |
| Michael Ryder | $4.000 |
| David Krejci | $3.750 |
| Marco Sturm | $3.500 |
| Blake Wheeler | $2.825 |
| Chuck Kobasew | $2.333 |
| Milan Lucic | $0.850 |
| Shawn Thornton | $0.517 |
| Vladimir Sobotka | $0.750 |
| Zdeno Chara | $7.500 |
| Dennis Wideman | $3.875 |
| Aaron Ward | $2.500 |
| Andrew Ference | $1.400 |
| Mark Stuart | $1.300 |
| Tim Thomas | $5.000 |
| Tuukka Rask* | $0.850 |
| 17 Players | $50.700 |
| Glen Murray's Buyout | $1.383 |
| Total on the Books | $52.083 |
| Estimated Salary Cap |
$55.000 |
| Less Total on the Books | -$52.083 |
| Bonus Cushion | $2.115 |
| Estimated Cap Space | $5.032 |
Assuming that the salary cap next season will be in the neighborhood of $55 million, the Bruins have roughly $5 million to spend on three players to round out their NHL roster. The cap space needs to come from somewhere. But, where? The way it stands right now, I don't think the Bruins can afford to re-sign Phil Kessel. If Phil Kessel is asking for a contract in the neighborhood of $5 million as speculated, that would leave the Bruins with no cap room to sign Matt Hunwick, Byron Bitz, and other free agents. The Bruins either need to trade away roster player(s) to free up cap space to sign Kessel, trade Kessel, or let Kessel sign an offer sheet with another team and take the compensatory picks.
*Tuukka Rask is on the books for $3.2 with bonuses, but is not expected to reach any of his bonus goals for '09-'10.
Information from NHL Numbers and NHLsCap were used to compile this report