Rinaldo, Stempniak Trades Leave Bruins Hamstrung In Restricted Free Agency
By Matt Dolloff, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- First and foremost, restricted free agency is a rare beast in the National Hockey League. It's exceedingly uncommon for a team to sign a restricted free agent to an offer sheet that the player would accept, mainly because of the rules regarding draft pick compensation.
But unfortunately for the Boston Bruins and GM Don Sweeney, restricted free agency was their best chance to acquire a talented young defenseman to rebuild their defense. And two dubious recent trades have deprived them of even the chance at making such a move.
Under current NHL rules, if an RFA accepts an offer sheet, his new team must compensate his former club with draft picks based on the average annual value of his contract. The rules make RFAs almost invariably too expensive. This handy chart from @GeneralFanager on Twitter shows the tiers of compensation, along with the teams who are able to match them.
You'll notice, however, that the Bruins are not even able to make any mid-tier offers. They can only even attempt to sign an RFA if it's for north of $9 million per year and they would be willing to trade four first-round picks, or if it's for a low-level player with no compensation required.
The Bruins can't make these moves because they lack second- and third-round picks in 2017 ... because they traded them away for Lee Stempniak and Zac Rinaldo, respectively. Rinaldo was acquired last offseason while Stempniak came to Boston at the 2016 trade deadline for the team's 2017 second round pick and a fourth-round pick from last weekend's 2016 draft.
Even if they had the ammunition to pull off a major RFA signing, the Bruins weren't likely to make such a move. But with super-talented young defensemen like Seth Jones, Hampus Lindholm, Jacob Trouba, and Matthew Dumba potentially hitting the RFA market, it would have at least been an intriguing avenue for the team to explore.
Instead, the Bruins will likely have to make a big trade that no one saw coming in order to end up with the top-pairing defenseman they so desperately need - that is, if they really do plan on being competitive for the next two-to-three seasons. Right now, it feels closer to a full-on rebuild than an on-the-fly retooling, but the Bruins seem to want to have their cake and eat it too here. Don Sweeney said just last Friday at the NHL Draft:
"And I've said all along, we have younger players that, if we don't find the right fit, these guys are going to be given an opportunity. And more than likely you'll find a surprise in that group as well. But we would like to add and strengthen our team."
It's fair to question what their plan is to upgrade the defense in the short term. Bringing the exact same corps back would be the very definition of insanity, but their options for avoiding it are rapidly disappearing. And Sweeney closed off an entire avenue of young talent by dealing off his own assets for middling players who may not even be on the team next season.
Restricted free agency was certainly a long shot to begin with, but it could have given the Bruins an opportunity to do something big. Instead, Sweeney installed his own roadblocks and just can't seem to get out of his own way.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Have a news tip or comment for Matt? Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
