Some have taken the signing of defenseman Steve Kampfer to a two-year contract by the Bruins as a definitive sign that the B's are about to trade a defenseman.
Whether it’s Torey Krug, Matt Grzelcyk or Kevan Miller, a faction of the Bruins fan base believes one of them is a goner after Kampfer’s contract for $800,000 over the next couple of seasons. Certainly it might feel like a peculiarly timed signing when NHL management typically takes care of the biggest contracts first before working down to the rank-and-file depth players like Kampfer.
At first blush all of the above might be natural initial reactions, but every indication is that the Bruins are pretty comfortable with their current situation on the blue line headed into the July 1 open of free agency.
“I’m pretty comfortable obviously with [Brandon] Carlo, [Charlie] McAvoy. [Matt] Grzelcyk played really well for us this year,” said Bruins President Cam Neely. “Torey [Krug] had a strong year. You know, obviously Zdeno’s [Chara] another year older, but we’ve got a couple good, young lefthanded prospects coming.”
With that in mind, there are a couple of other reasons why locking up Kampfer now makes sound business sense.
One is the Bruins gaining insurance with their spare defenseman for next season after the 30-year-old dutifully played the role as eighth defenseman last season playing in 35 games, scoring three goals and six points and adding a playoff goal to his résumé during spot postseason duty. Kampfer is that rare player who can sit for long periods of time, stay ready and then contribute if injuries or ineffectiveness hit the back end.
That’s something that would be a tough ask for a young player like 24-year-old Connor Clifton if he were to be slotted in as the eighth D-man next season.
The second reason has more to do with the B’s defensemen situation overall. The Bruins need some certainty on the right side of their defense with both Brandon Carlo and Charlie McAvoy as restricted free agents who may, or may not, take some time for their contract situations to get resolved. If there were to be a holdout with either of the two, with McAvoy the more likely given the money involved in his negotiations, Kampfer gives the Bruins another option on the right side who’s already signed, sealed and delivered for cheap NHL money.
Boston Bruins
There’s also the fact that veteran D-man John Moore was facing shoulder surgery in mid-June and the normal timetable is 5-6 months, which would put his return into November or December. That means the Bruins will likely be short one of their defensemen to start next season, and that Kampfer will likely be needed as a semi-regular in the first half of the season.
The signing leaves the Bruins with a tick over $12 million in cap space that’s expected to be eaten up by restricted free agent contracts for McAvoy, Carlo and Danton Heinen, so it makes sense that the B’s want to get cost certainty for their reserve players for next season.
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