Yesterday, we reported the Boston Bruins were close to extending the contracts of forwards Chris Kelly and Gregory Campbell.
Today, we can give you the details.
The Bruins gave Kelly $12 million over four years and Campbell $4.8 million over three, representing a pretty nice pay bump for each guy (Kelly gets around $900k more annually; Campbell $500k.)
The signings ....what does it mean for the Bruins’ financials moving forward?
For the answer, here’s CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty:
The salary cap for the 2012-13 season isn’t yet known and won’t be finalized until the CBA is ratified by the NHL and the NHLPA. But it would have been $70.3 million if the new CBA is modeled after the current agreement that expires in September, and the Bruins are currently at $64.9 million, according to capgeek.com. The $64.9 million includes the $5 million cap hit for Tim Thomas and the $4.007 million cap hit for Marc Savard, and both could be off the B’s books by the time next season rolls around. That leaves roughly $5 million in cap space -- or $14 million if they can clear Thomas off the ledger and place Savard on long term injured reserve with his debilitating post-concussion syndrome -- with the Bruins still looking to address restricted free agents Tuukka Rask and Benoit Pouliot as well secure at least one more top-nine forward to the mix. The Bruins also need one more defenseman to fill into the vacant spot left by Joe Corvo, and a $1.494 cap hit for Dougie Hamilton should the 18-year-old prove he’s ready to play in Boston next season.
To summarize: Boston will look very similar to last season. While there’s still the possibility for a trade, all signs point to the Bruins heading into 2012-13 with the group that earned 102 points last season and a second straight Northeast Division banner -- minus the services of Tim Thomas, of course.