The Boston Bruins may not be the ones writing the checks, but two familiar names are still cashing in.
Former Bruins forward AJ Greer and defenseman Jeremy Lauzon both landed major new deals as free agency approached Wednesday at noon, another reminder of how quickly the NHL’s rising salary cap is pushing contracts into a different stratosphere.
Greer’s path has bounced around, but it’s paid off. The Bruins put him on waivers in October of 2023, and Calgary claimed him.
He then left in free agency the following summer for Florida, where he won a Stanley Cup in 2024-25. In that title season, Greer played 81 games and posted six goals and 17 points.
This past season, he took another step, finishing with 17 goals and 15 assists in 78 games for a Panthers team that missed the playoffs.
Florida then sent Greer and his free-agent rights to the Anaheim Ducks in a trade for defenseman Radko Gudas, and Greer followed with a four-year deal worth $17 million. The contract carries a $4.25 million annual average value.
Lauzon’s rise has been a little different, but the result is the same: a big payday. Boston left him exposed in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, and Seattle grabbed him.
From there, he was traded to Nashville in March of 2022 and later landed with Vegas a year ago. On Tuesday night, he agreed to a six-year extension with the Golden Knights worth $24 million, good for a $4 million AAV.
Lauzon became a key piece for Vegas and appeared in 12 playoff games during its run to the Stanley Cup Final, where the Golden Knights fell to the Carolina Hurricanes in six games.
In Other News...
Bruins Finally Make A Move At Their Biggest Defensive Need
Boston had been searching for help on the right side of its blue line, and the club finally acted Wednesday by landing a veteran defenseman from the Rangers. The move gives the Bruins a more established option behind Charlie McAvoy, a spot they had been trying to address after missing on other possibilities, and it comes with a price that shows how much they valued filling that hole now.
The deal sends a 2027 second-round pick to New York, along with a conditional 2028 third-rounder that can escalate under specific playoff and usage terms. For a Bruins team trying to stabilize its defense for the stretch ahead, the contract control matters almost as much as the immediate fit, and the finer points of the return suggest Boston was willing to pay for certainty while leaving itself a little room if the next two seasons break right. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Risk Missing On The One Blue Line Fix Fans Want
The Bruins entered NHL free agency with a clear need on the back end, and the search is centered on a right-shot defenseman. Boston has the cap room to make a move, but the market is thin enough that the club may have to balance fit, price and risk if it wants to shore up a blue line that still feels one piece short.
A few names have surfaced as the kind of stopgaps or swings that could make sense, from Jacob Trouba and John Klingberg to Nick Blankenburg, with Rasmus Andersson also in the mix as the most obvious impact target. Boston has shown interest in at least one right-shot defenseman, and it has stayed in touch with Andrew Peekes camp, which leaves the Bruins weighing whether the cleanest answer is still out there or whether the safer move is to lean back into an option they already know. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Offseason Moves Are Raising One Big Question For Don Sweeney
The Bruins have spent the opening stretch of the offseason making sure Don Sweeney has plenty of options on the board before the 2026-27 season, and the pattern is easy to spot. Boston has already added to the mix with a trade for a top-six winger, then followed it by bringing back Lukas Reichel and Navrin Mutter while also adding Attilio Biasca and Simon Zajicek on new deals. It is the kind of activity that signals urgency, but also a front office still trying to sort out exactly how the roster should look when camp opens.
Ivan Ivan adds another layer to that picture. Boston brought him in from the Colorado Avalanche and then locked him in on a one-year contract, another move that suggests the Bruins are willing to keep tinkering as they try to fill out the depth chart through trades and free agency. The larger question for Sweeney is whether these pieces are the start of a clearer plan or simply the latest steps in a summer that still has one or two important decisions left to make. [Read more 🡒]