The Boston Bruins enter the weekend with a home-and-home series against the Detroit Red Wings with playoff clinching scenarios at their finger tips.
As of today, there are only four non-playoff teams that could catch the Bruins. And they would have to win all their remaining games while the Bruins lose theirs to do so. As it stands:
The Red Wings can get to a maximum of 103 points. The Florida Panthers and the Buffalo Sabres can get to a maximum of 104 points and the Ottawa Senators can get to a maximum of 106 points. The Bruins of course, have 103 points.
The math is simple: win one game and they’ve taken care of Detroit, Florida and Buffalo. Win both and they’ve taken care of all four and clinched a playoff birth. If Florida and Buffalo lose once, the Bruins are in no matter what they do against Detroit. If Ottawa wins one of their two games, then all Boston has to do is beat the Wings once.
What does this all mean for David Krejci?
Well, on August 8, 2022 Krejci signed a one-year deal with the Bruins for a salary of just $1 million. But it included some performance bonuses. Krejci received a $1 million bonus for playing in 10 games. He then received a $500,000 bonus for playing in 20 games.
There is one more bonus to attain and that is $500,000 for qualifying for the playoffs. With Patrice Bergeron already guaranteed his $2.5 million in bonuses and Krejci already guaranteed $1.5 million, the Bruins already cap crunched situation becomes even more difficult as Krejci will surely earn his final bonus whether it happens this weekend or not.
The Bruins are all in this year, which is why I don’t really care about the cap crunch. Win the Stanley Cup and worry about next season after the parade. But many fans just can’t stop talking about it. So, I give you the current cap situation for the offseason and go from there.
For those wondering why I have Oskar Steen on the roster: It’s because all one-way contracts count towards the cap in the offseason until they are waived and sent down to the minors.
Dom - Hockey 