Islanders can take advantage of Bruins cap crunch to acquire defense

The New York Islanders have needs and the Boston Bruins need cap space. Heading into this summer, Bruins GM Don Sweeney has a mere $2,383,333 to work with and some important players to resign if Boston plans on continuing to contend. Patrice Bergeron just won his NHL record-setting fifth Frank J. Selke trophy, breaking his own and Hall-of-Fame forward Bob Gainey's four captures. Bergeron is also due for a new contract this summer, so the Bruins have to decide what their future looks like and if that includes or does not include their captain.

Another important position that Sweeney needs to maintain is the Bruins goaltending. Linus Ullmark is signed for another three seasons at $5 million per season including a full no-movement clause this season, and a partial no-movement clause the next two seasons. Ullmark was solid in net for the Bruins with a .917 SV% and 2.45 GAA accruing 26 wins. 23-year-old Jeremey Swayman had an almost identical season with a .914 SV% and 2.41 GAA accruing 23 wins, but their problem is he also needs a new contract. The Bruins goalie tandem is one of the best duo's in the league and in the modern two-goaltender NHL, it's safe to assume Sweeney wants to keep his tandem together, especially since we've seen the goalie carousel for a lot of teams in the 2022 NHL Playoffs.

The Bruins have eight defensemen signed on for next season (five left-handed, six if they re-sign Jack Ahcan) while the Islanders have just three at the moment in Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield. There's no question Islanders GM Lou Lamoriello will extend Noah Dobson and he'll also need to sign Robin Salo, but there's no guarantee the latter will be a full-time NHL defenseman next season. With just four blue liners a sure thing for the Islanders in 2022-23, Lamoriello has the opportunity to take advantage by giving Sweeney a call to pluck one of his defenders and relieve some cap for the Bruins in order to retain some pretty important assets.

Mike Reilly

Mike Reilly is another Bruins defenseman Lamoriello can attempt to pluck from the Bruins. His $3 million cap hit for the next two seasons is plenty manageable for the Islanders for the same reason as mentioned earlier with Grzelcyk. Reilly spent the majority of his time in the 2021-22 season playing top-four minutes with two different defense partners, Carlo and Charlie McAvoy.

The analytics really like Reilly as well as he owns an excellent 56.48 CF%, 52.27 GF%, and 57.87 xGF%. In terms of points, it wasn't Reilly's best season potting four goals and 17 points, but his ability to move the puck has been a strength of his. He's solid defensively and could open up the ice a little more for Dobson to move the puck up the ice and into the opponent's zone which could bode well for them as a pair.

The Athletic's Fluto Shinzawa writes that the Bruins could acquire $3 million in cap space in exchange for a third-round pick for Reilly which seems more than reasonable, especially because he's another Bruins defenseman that just underwent surgery. His timeline is shorter, however, and he's projected to be ready for the start of the season. Shinzawa also admits GMs don't love to trade defensemen of Reilly's kind:

No team likes trading defensemen, especially ones who skate well and move the puck. The blue line’s depth would be compromised. But the Bruins simply have too many left-shot defensemen, some of whom feature overlapping skill sets.

Reilly's deployment remained the same in the playoffs this season splitting time skating with both McAvoy and Carlo. He was much more successful on McAvoy's line than he was with Carlo in the playoffs which shows you a little more how well he can pair with a puck mover like Dobson.

Reilly is an attainable asset that shouldn't cost Lamoriello that much in return. The Islanders need defensemen and much like Grzelcyk, Reilly plays well in a defensive system and could fit well on the Islanders' blue line.

Derek Forbort

Derek Forbort is the least attractive of the Bruins regular blue liners that the Islanders could acquire. He's on the same exact contract as Reilly but provides less in terms of on-ice production.

Forbort is good in his own end preventing goals-against but offers very little in the offensive zone. In 76 games, Forbort tallied four goals and 14 points. Not great, but he's a defensive defenseman that played mostly bottom pair minutes. He's not a top-four option, but if the Islanders need a bottom pairing skater to round out the third pair he could probably be plucked. However, his $3 million cap hit for the next two seasons is likely a little rich for what he provides. If the Bruins really want to move him, they'd have to retain some salary which is probably counterproductive to what they need to do this offseason in terms of shedding salary.

The highlight of Forbort's season came in the playoffs in the first round against the Carolina Hurricanes. In Game 3 of the first-round matchup, Forbort laid his body on the line blocking nine shots. That's the kind of player you'll get in Forbort. A poor man's Johnny Boychuk if you will. As a bottom pair option in an "if all else fails" situation, Forbort would be fine as a third pair skater, but only if the Islanders can lower his $3 million cap hit.

The Bruins have too many left-shot defensemen signed up for the 2022-23 season. Despite the number of surgeries they'll have this offseason, those players will eventually return and the Bruins need cap space. The Bergeron contract remains a question and even if he doesn't return whether it's for another team or retirement, the Bruins will need a center. Swayman will surely get a raise as well, and next summer David Pastrnak's contract will be up.

Lamoriello can take advantage of the Bruins cap crunch issue and acquire himself a very necessary defenseman for next season. The Islanders play a similar defensive style as the Bruins, so Grzelcyk or Reilly would fit in seamlessly. Forbort too, but Lamoriello could upgrade his top-four with the two former skaters.