While cap constraints would seem to put NHL free agent Cody Franson squarely outside the reach of the Boston Bruins that may not actually be the case. Or, at least, that's not the way Bruins GM Don Sweeney seems to be approaching the matter despite having just over $4.7 million in space at present, according to NHLNumbers.com.
Per Franson, who recently joined the hosts of Team 1040 in Vancouver, the Bruins and Sweeney are one of a small handful of NHL franchises he's been in consistent contact with as he moves through the free agency process. While Franson indicated that nothing seems imminent with Boston or any other team, he did admit that he went so far as to contact former WHL teammate and Bruin, Milan Lucic, to pick his brain about Boston.
"I asked him a few questions about it," Franson said, via NHL.com. "With the trade they made with [Dougie] Hamilton and some of the other stuff they've done, they're one of the teams that we're in talks with. Boston would be an interesting spot. It's obviously an awesome city and they've got a great organization and all those things that come with it. There are a handful of other teams too and everything is just kind of slow rolling at the moment, and we're taking it day by day."
Franson, 27, has played the last three NHL seasons on one-year deals. His contract last season carried a value of $3.3 million. He indicated during the interview that he'd like to find a place where he can sign a longer-term deal and assure himself some stability. He also said that despite the lack of a deal to this point, several teams, the Bruins among them, remain interested.
"There are some very interested [teams], but some teams are in cap situations and all the rest that comes with it," Franson said. "So everything is just kind of slowly rolling, but definitely [we] have some action."
Unfortunately for Franson, the Bruins ability to add him may hinge on Sweeney first shipping out bodies elsewhere on the blueline, something that won't be easy to do considering the age - both old and young - of some of his pieces. Dennis Seidenberg was reportedly available ahead of the March trade deadline and willing to waive his no-trade clause, but nothing came of it and it's not clear if there's much of a market for the services of a 34-year-old defender with diminishing skills who finished the 2014-15 season with just three goals and 11 assists and is set to count $4 million against the cap each of the next three seasons.
While Sweeney's addition of veteran depth defenseman Matt Irwin was a smart one, the team is in a strange situation where their blueline is concerned. If Zdeno Chara and Seidenberg stay healthy, Torey Krug takes his increased role and runs with it and a couple of young guys like Zach Trotman, Joe Morrow and/or Colin Miller take a big step forward, the Bruins should be fine on the backend in 2015-16.
If any of those things don't happen though, there could be issues from the get go and next season for the Bruins may be over before it ever really begins.
While Franson has plenty of warts to his game - he's a mediocre skater and can get caught flat-footed by smaller, quicker forwards and he also managed just four points in 23 games with the Predators after being traded by the Toronto Maple Leafs last year - he represents a younger, yet still more established product than many of the other options currently available for the Bruins.
If the price tag isn't too steep, Sweeney certainly should give consideration to the addition of a player in Franson who said that after struggling in Nashville, he places more of an emphasis on fit than he does on money at this point in his NHL career.
