Bruins Add Coleman, Swap Carlson for Girard, Tatar

After a disappointing season last year that began with Stanley Cup dreams and ended with the Bruins missing the playoffs, there has been a slight re-tool in Boston ahead of the 2023-24 season.

Blake Coleman played a significant role for the 2021-22 Bruins after his acquisition, with 43 points in 51 games and then 9 points in 12 playoff games in their playoff run. Coleman signed as a Free Agent with the Dallas Stars that summer, but the Bruins have moved to bring him back.

A strong two-way winger with a scoring touch and physical element to his game, Coleman averaged 20:30/game playing in all situations during his last stint in Boston.

"Blake is our kind of player... he just does it all. We loved having him here, as you can probably tell by how much he got on the ice when he was with this team. We're very excited to bring him back," said GM Trevor Cook.

In what might be a more controversial move, given what the team gave up to bring him in two years ago, the Bruins also shipped top defenseman John Carlson out alongside Jakob Silfverberg for Samuel Girard, Tomas Tatar, a 2024 2nd round draft pick, and cash considerations.

Carlson posted 139 points in 147 games over almost two full seasons in Boston. For a team calling itself a contender, the timing is a little curious. The Bruins do have a logjam of young defensemen knocking on the NHL's door: you can expect all of Brock Faber, Pavel Mintyukov, Dylan Samberg, and Justin Barron to be on the radar for an NHL spot within a year from now. But Carlson is a clear step ahead of all of them - and every defenseman not named Devon Toews currently on the roster.

"It was just a situation where it helped us financially, helped with our salary cap situation. Looking ahead a couple of years it looked like there was a decision to be made between him and (Filip) Forsberg for a franchise tag and with the organization depth on defense we have, we just opted to make the decision now for a number of reasons," Cook explained.

Girard has spent time in a Bruins jersey before, with 61 points in 194 games between 2018-19 and 2020-21, before being traded to the New York Rangers. Girard brings a similar playstyle to Carlson, albeit at a lower level, and a cap hit $4.5 million lower.

"He's a good player, he's an RFA in a couple years, so we're still going to have decisions to make with the blueline but it keeps our options open a little more, and he's plenty capable of running our #2 powerplay this year."

After the trades, it looks like the Bruins have their entire top-9 forwards, top-6 defensemen, and two pro goalies under contract. With about $6.5 million in cap space left, the Bruins do need to add two more depth forwards and a #7 defenseman ahead of the regular season. They hope that they can be a little stronger defensively this year and get back into the post-season.