The Boston Bruins need help on the right side of the blue line, but their options are starting to fall off the board. 

On Friday, the Toronto Maple Leafs landed defenseman Darren Raddysh and took one of, if not the biggest, names off the market this summer. They flipped a fifth-round pick to the Tampa Bay Lightning and announced an eight-year, $68 million deal ($8.5 million AAV) for the Ontario-born defenseman. 

Michael Kesselring, a cheaper RFA alternative the Bruins could have explored, was dealt to San Jose on Wednesday. 

Free agency provides other options, but not one to replicate Raddysh’s breakout 71-point season. 

In January, the Bruins swung for the fences in an attempt to acquire Rasmus Andersson. They wanted to lock him in with a reported seven-year extension ($9 million AAV). He did not budge on the extension and still has not signed one with the Vegas Golden Knights. David Pagnotta reported the Golden Knights and Andersson have a “handshake agreement,” but nothing has been made official yet. Vegas has its own salary cap situation to navigate over the next two weeks.

Now that Raddysh is off the market, Andersson becomes the big fish. 

Andersson, 29, scored a career-high 17 goals this season, and he finished with 47 points (17-30–47) across 81 games with Calgary and Vegas. However, Andersson did not have a strong playoff run. He finished with six assists and a plus-two rating in 22 games, a 41.56% Corsi share, and a 44.53% share of expected goals. 

After the Cup run, Andersson stated his desire to stay in Vegas. It will not be easy for the Golden Knights to keep him around, though, as they have $4,625,000 in cap space. They also have to make a decision on pending RFA Pavel Dorofeyev, and they only have four NHL defensemen under contract for the 2026-27 season. 

AFP Analytics projects Andersson to sign a six-year deal with an $8.745 million cap hit. 

After Andersson, the market gets thin. And fast.

The Anaheim Ducks have three veteran right-shot defensemen who are all free agents on July 1: John Carlson, Jacob Trouba, and Radko Gudas. 

Carlson, a native of Natick, MA, told Ducks GM Pat Verbeek he is hitting the open market, according to Pierre LeBrun. The 36-year-old defenseman finished the season with 60 points, his highest since 2021-22, and he played in 71 games for both Washington and Anaheim. 

Carlson is a power-play quarterback, something the Bruins could benefit from, and he had a nightly average of 2:27 on the man-advantage this past season. He is not close to his prime, but he has not shown many signs of regression after his 17th NHL year.

AFP projects him to land a three-year deal with a $7 million cap hit, but recent reports show that he may command anywhere between $8 million and $10 million on a two-year deal. 

It has also been reported that Carlson’s preference is to play in the East, citing familiarity and proximity to family. However, the Bruins are not the only team looking for a right-shot defenseman, and you can add Tampa Bay to the mix after losing Raddysh.  

Jacob Trouba, 32, is also reportedly hitting the market this summer. The former Rangers captain rejuvenated his career after being dealt to Anaheim, and this season, posted a positive expected goals share for the first time since 2017-18. 

His projected contract is a four-year deal with a $6.4 million AAV. That projection was enough to land him on Dom Luszczyszyn’s list of players to avoid in the offseason. 

Radko Gudas, the Ducks’ captain, is also “gaining interest in the marketplace,” according to Kevin Weekes. There is still time for the Ducks to put pen to paper, but if they do not, Weekes projects around a $3.5-4 million cap hit for the 36-year-old veteran. AFP says a one-year deal worth $2 million.

There are other options outside of Anaheim, as well. Shutdown defenseman Connor Murphy, 33, is an unrestricted free agent, though unlike Carlson or Andersson, he does not have too much offensive upside. He is known for his defensive game and penalty-killing, which could appeal to the Bruins if Andrew Peeke walks. AFP projects him to sign a two-year deal with a cap hit of $3.61 million.

The Bruins still remain in discussions with Peeke, according to David Pagnotta. 

There are no right-shot defensemen coming up through the prospect pool. The free agency market is not the strongest, but the available right-shot defensemen are not as weak as the depleted center market. Even if the Bruins draft a right-shot defenseman on Friday, they will need a veteran stopgap to allow the prospect ample time to develop. 

However, they may have to act fast as some of the names start to come off the market.

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