Bruins Place Max Talbot On Waivers
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins made final roster cuts Monday morning, and a semi-surprising veteran name made the list. The team has place incumbent fourth-line winger Max Talbot on waivers, leaving the other 29 teams to claim him and his $900,000 cap hit.
The Bruins had less than $2 million in cap space entering Monday and are looking to cut salary wherever they can. Talbot's cap hit was relatively small, but took up a sizeable portion of the little room the team had left.
The move is likely just as much about Talbot's talent level as his salary. They may feel that going with a cheaper option from within the system could save them a bit of cap space and make the team just as good, if not better on the ice. Talbot's relatively meager cap hit could entice better-equipped teams to pick up the veteran forward for depth purposes.
Talbot was entering the final year of his contract, so it makes sense for the Bruins to part with him even if it means removing his veteran presence in the locker room. Fellow vets Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson, both pending unrestricted free agents, could be the next pieces to be shipped out of Causeway Street.
Shedding those three contracts would free up just over $8 million in cap space for next offseason, giving the Bruins serious ammunition to go out and sign impact free agents. Waiving Talbot is just another sign that the Bruins are in a bit of a rebuilding phase, and could only be the first in many steps to revamping their roster.
Matt Dolloff is a writer for CBSBostonSports.com. His opinions do not necessarily reflect that of CBS or 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read more from Matt here. Follow him on Twitter @mattdolloff and email him at mdolloff@985thesportshub.com.
