According to Joe McDonald of the Worcester T&G : “Hearing the Bruins and Brandon Carlo have reached a long-term deal. “Great move by Don Sweeney. Carlo a huge part of the Bruins.” said McDonald. There has yet to be confirmation by the team and McDonald is the only one, as of now, reporting the news.
The defenseman is a 24-year-old RFA and a big part of the core of the blue line for the team. If this report turns out the be accurate, it will be a big piece of business taken care of by a Bruins team who has a real focus on their blue line corps this offseason.
When Zdeno Chara left the team in free agency and headed to the Washington Capitals ahead of the 2020-21 season, the Boston Bruins blueline was minus a huge player. The team also lost Torey Krug to the St. Louis Blues in free agency, which was a big blow offensively. The blue line was a point of issue for the team, and an area they still want to address this offseason.
Unfortunately for the Bruins, a key piece to filling those holes was Brandon Carlo, who joined a long list of fellow defensemen sitting out time due to injuries. A high hit from behind, Capitals forward Tom Wilson gave Carlo a concussion, which forced the defenseman to miss nearly a month. He played in only 27 games this past season, producing three goals and four points.
While it wasn’t a great year for the blueliner, he did still average 18:43 a night during his 27 regular-season games, and those numbers increased to 22:30 a night in the playoffs.
Terms of the deal have not yet been released, but we’ll make sure to update the story as news is forthcoming.
More must-reads: