The Bruins don't have a lot of space under the salary cap to spend on big-name free agents, which might make them fairly inactive in the market, reports the Boston Globe.
Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli said the club is "going to sit back" rather that pursue high-priced free agents. His priority appears to be dealing with restricted free agents Phil Kessel, Matt Hunwick and Byron Bitz.
"We have room to sign our guys for what they're asking tonight, but we're not going to do it," Chiarelli told the paper. "There's a risk of allowing players to go out unsigned into the marketplace. But it's a risk we're willing to take. We're also willing to continue to negotiate."
The Bruins almost traded Kessel on Friday to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Tomas Kaberle, but the deal fell through.
Another team could step up and sign Kessel to an offer sheet, however Chiarelli won't allow his player to leave for draft picks, which is what the Bruins would receive as compensation if they let him walk.
"I'm on the record saying we're going to match it. We will," Chiarelli said. "That's the approach we're going to take through the free agency period."
Unrestricted free agent forwards P.J. Axelsson and Mark Recchi want to stay in Boston, but the Bruins might only have enough space to re-sign one of them.
Newspaper:
Boston Globe
