The best journey takes you home 👊 pic.twitter.com/9JomW5Qz3s
— x – Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) July 1, 2023
BOSTON — Milan Lucic is back with the Boston Bruins, grinning ear to ear while wearing a hat of the team he won the Stanley Cup with more than a decade ago.
Lucic returned to the Bruins just after the opening of NHL free agency Saturday, one of several players signed to bargain contracts. The 2011 Cup champion got a $1 million deal with $500,000 more possible in performance-based incentives as part of an emotional rendezvous.
“It’s a place that’s close and dear to my heart,” said Lucic, now 35, who played his first eight NHL seasons with Boston. “It feels like I’m going home.”
Also signed to contracts next season were winger James van Riemsdyk ($1 million) and 2020 Cup-winning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk ($1.05 million). Former Seattle forward Morgan Geekie signed for $4 million over two years and Patrick Brown for $1.6 million over two years.
“We did a lot of the things that we set out to do in addressing the depth overall of our club,” General Manager Don Sweeney said. “We have plenty of opportunity for younger kids to come in and take their place if they earn it, but we’ve also complemented the group with players we felt we needed to fill some holes.”
The salary cap-strapped Bruins lost defensemen Dmitry Orlov and Connor Clifton in free agency and essentially closed the door on bringing back key trade deadline pickup Tyler Bertuzzi. Boston earlier in the week traded Taylor Hall to Chicago to clear space.
That might ultimately go to captain Patrice Bergeron and fellow veteran center David Krejci, who have yet to decide if they’re coming back for another season.
“(Krejci has) been pretty consistent in saying that if he’s playing the NHL, he’s playing for Boston,” Sweeney said. “And Patrice has been very consistent saying he’s going to take all the time he needs to make the best decision for him and his family.”
The Bruins are coming off setting shootout-era league records for wins and points in a regular season and losing in the first round of the playoffs in seven games to eventual East champion Florida.
“The core guys here have taken to heart that they feel like we had a historic regular season, but we had a failure in the playoffs,” Sweeney said. “We have to learn and grow.”
The Bruins still also need to figure out a new contract for restricted free agent goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who split time last season with Vezina Trophy winner Linus Ullmark.
“He’s been very consistent about where he wants to play hockey,” Sweeney said. “I don’t see why he wouldn’t be playing hockey here now and moving forward for a long time. This is a really good young goaltender. We are excited about having him and Linus.”
BLUE JACKETS: Mike Babcock is back in the NHL as coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets, joining them after a stint of almost four years out of a pro job.
The 2008 Stanley Cup winner returns following the end of his lengthy contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, who fired Babcock early in his fifth season with them in 2019.
Columbus decided early last month to hire Babcock but had to wait until July to make it official because of the significant money still owed to him on the $50 million, eight-year deal he signed with Toronto in 2015.
Babcock, who also made trips to the Cup Final with Anaheim in 2003 and Detroit in 2009 and guided Canada to Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014, gives the Blue Jackets an accomplished veteran behind the bench to oversee their attempt to become a contender again in the Eastern Conference.
FREE AGENCY: The Carolina Hurricanes were able to retain two players – goalie Antti Raanta and forward Jesper Fast – before the NHL’s free agent signing period began on Saturday.
The New York Rangers, meantime, were quick out of the gate in signing two free agents, forward Blake Wheeler and goalie Jonathan Quick. Wheeler signed a one-year deal worth $800,000 plus another $300,000 in incentives a day after the former Jets captain was placed on unconditional waivers by Winnipeg for the purpose to have the remainder of his contract bought out.
The Toronto Maple Leafs added muscle by signing forward Ryan Reaves to a three-year, $4.05 million contract, according to a third person with knowledge of the deal.
The Buffalo Sabres are bringing back forward Tyson Jost by signing him to a one-year, $2 million contract. Jost re-signed with Buffalo after the team declined to issue him a qualifying offer. The Sabres also addressed their defensive needs by signing former Bruins blue-liner Connor Clifton to a three-year, $9.99 million contact and former Avalanche blue-liner Erik Johnson to a one-year, $3.25 million deal. Johnson is a 15-year NHL veteran, who won a Stanley Cup in spending the past 13 seasons with Colorado.
The New Jersey Devils did some internal business bringing back Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian after deciding not to tender either forward a qualifying offer. McLeod got $1.4 million for next season and Bastian $2.7 million over two years.
CAPITALS-CANADIENS TRADE: The Washington Capitals acquired Joel Edmundson from the Montreal Canadiens for third- and seventh-round picks in the 2024 draft. Montreal is retaining half of Edmundson’s salary in the final year of his contract, which means Washington gets him at a bargain salary cap hit of $1.75 million.
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