Bruins sign Riley Duran to one-year contract

Duran was a restricted free agent with arbitration rights after the conclusion of his two-year, entry-level contract with a cap hit of $867,500. It was a contract he had signed in 2024 after three years with Providence College, beginning in the 2024-25 season, but he was able to get some professional hockey action at the tail end of the 2023-24 season on an amateur tryout contract. Duran could only sign for two years compared to the usual three because he was 23 at the time of signing the contract, since only 18- to 21-year-olds are allowed to sign for three years.

Duran’s new contract is a two-way contract, meaning he will only make $850,000 if he plays at the NHL level. His minor-league salary is set at $90,000 for next season, although according to PuckPedia, he is guaranteed $100,000 on this contract regardless of where he plays. When the contract expires next season, he will once again be an RFA with arbitration rights.

Duran was a sixth-round pick by the Bruins in the 2020 Draft, but has still only just begun his professional hockey career after playing for Providence College from 2021 to 2024. Now in his second full season in the AHL, he’s coming off of his best season where he had seven goals and 12 assists for a career high of 19 points in 72 games with the Providence Bruins. He also got into some playoff action, but went pointless in Providence’s four games before they were ousted in the Atlantic Division semifinals.

Duran has gotten into two NHL games in his career thus far, both coming towards the end of the 2024-25 season, although he did not register a point in either game. He’s one of five players from the 2020 sixth-round to play an NHL game, joining Nils Aman, Matt Rempe, Cole Reinhardt and Rory Kerins.

The Bruins have had a relatively quiet summer, as their only moves of note have been acquiring J.J. Peterka from the Utah Mammoth and signing Connor Clifton. Boston still has $5,390,417 in cap space according to PuckPedia, with Matthew Poitras as their only remaining RFA left to re-sign.