The Bruins have made their blue line a crowded place this offseason, and that’s why Henri Jokiharju suddenly looks like the odd man out.
Boston already added Will Borgen from the New York Rangers and brought in Connor Clifton in free agency, and both of those moves tighten the squeeze on the right side. Borgen and Clifton are right-shot defensemen, and both should sit ahead of Jokiharju on the depth chart if things play out the way they look on paper.
That matters because Jokiharju was already fighting for space last season. He appeared in just 41 regular-season games and two playoff games for Boston, a clear sign he was often the extra body when the Bruins had to make lineup decisions.
The cap piece makes the case even louder. Jokiharju carries a $3 million cap hit, and Boston is not in a spot where it can comfortably park that kind of money on a defenseman who may not be in the nightly rotation. The Bruins have other roster holes to fill, and they don’t have a ton of cap room to work with.
So if Boston decides it needs to trim somewhere on defense, Jokiharju stands out as the most obvious trade candidate. He’s still a serviceable bottom-pairing option, and with fewer UFA defensemen left on the market, there’s at least a chance another team would take a look. But with the Bruins’ right side this crowded, it would not be a surprise if they listen to offers and move on.