The Bruins made it through the arbitration deadline without losing any of their remaining restricted free agents to that process, and that keeps Matt Poitras and Riley Duran squarely on Boston’s to-do list.
The filing window closed at 5:00 PM ET yesterday, and none of the Bruins’ RFAs submitted for arbitration. That matters because players who file are no longer eligible for offer sheets this summer. The league saw 15 players take that route, including Jason Robertson, his brother Nick Robertson, and a handful of other notable names across the NHL.
Boston still has two unsigned RFAs after issuing qualifying offers to both Poitras and Duran. Neither player filed for arbitration.
There was also more Bruins-related news away from the contract clock. Cole Chandler, Boston’s fifth-round pick in the 2025 draft, said he’s committed to Northeastern for the 2027-28 season.
For now, he’s heading back closer to home in Bedford, NS, and will spend this year with the Cape Breton Eagles in the QMJHL. Chandler discussed Northeastern, Cape Breton, and what Adam McQuaid wants to see from him.
At development camp last week, BHN also caught up with Vashek Blanar, a UMass commit, and Dean Letourneau, who is headed to Boston College. The camp takeaways are already out there, too.
Around the NHL, the arbitration list included Xavier Bourgault, Jamie Drysdale, Jet Greaves, Alex Jefferies, Peyton Krebs, Connor McMichael, Akira Schmid, Braden Schneider, Ronan Seeley, Cole Sillinger, and Trevor Zegras. Those players can still work out deals before hearings are scheduled for late July through early August.
Jason Robertson’s situation remains the biggest one on that list. He rejected an eight-year offer from Seattle, is said to be about $2 million apart from Dallas in negotiations, and is eligible for unrestricted free agency after next season.
His arbitration filing also shuts the door on an offer sheet this summer. Nick Robertson, who just arrived in Pittsburgh last week, filed as well.
Elsewhere, the Ducks moved fast to keep Pavel Mintyukov off the market. Anaheim signed the 22-year-old defenseman to a five-year deal with a $7.2 million cap hit after being told an offer sheet was pending.
That deal ends the speculation around Mintyukov, and the Ducks now have roughly $10 million in cap space if they match Philadelphia’s offer sheet for Leo Carlsson. They still need to get Cutter Gauthier signed after his 41-goal season.
Pittsburgh was active too, with Kyle Dubas locking up Egor Chinakhov, Arturs Silovs, and two other Penguins RFAs. Colorado added former P-Bruin Christian Wolanin, and Radko Gudas sounded plenty pleased to be back in South Florida after the Panthers traded for and signed him to a six-year deal.
He even showed up to media availability wearing a shirt that said, “Nobody likes us. We don’t care.”
And yes, Balogun is playing tonight. Go USA.
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