Bruins Unlikely to Retain Orlov

The 31-year-old Orlov was acquired by the Bruins’ at the 2023 Trade Deadline and proved to be an effective player for them from the get-go. This was despite the fact that Orlov had never played for an NHL team outside of the Washington Capitals prior to this trade, and never really settled into a solid pairing during his time with the Bruins. He’d score four goals and 17 points in just 23 games for the Bruins, in contrast to the three goals and 19 points he posted in 43 games for the Capitals prior to the deal. Orlov would also add eight assists in seven playoff games and was a key cog for the Bruins down the stretch.

Though Orlov was very good for the Bruins, the likelihood of him returning to the Bruins is slim-to-none given the type of contract he can command on the open market. Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff wrote about how Orlov now projects to sign for the highest total salary cap hit of any remaining pending free agent in the NHL, according to AFP Analytics. This made Orlov the No. 1 player on the Daily Faceoff Top 50 Free Agent rankings heading into free agency.

Interestingly, the only player to earn more projected total dollars this offseason is fellow Bruins’ deadline addition Tyler Bertuzzi. With news coming out recently that the Bruins are looking to re-sign Bertuzzi, it can be assumed that the team has made him a priority over Orlov; retaining both is possible, but entirely unlikely given the hoops the Bruins would have to jump through to facilitate such a sequence. As it stands, the Bruins will look to return as similar a roster as they can from last season while remaining salary cap-compliant. Moving on from multiple pieces to retain Bertuzzi will already shake up the status quo, so moving even more to also retain Orlov just seems like too insurmountable a task to overcome.

Orlov Earned a Big Contract This Offseason

With Damon Severson recently signing an eight-year contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets that carries a $6.25 million cap hit per year and Vladislav Gavrikov signing a two-year contract that carries a $5.875 million cap hit annually, Orlov projects to make as much as $8 million per season depending on the term he signs for. Whether or not he gets that money is another question, but the projection makes sense given the level of play Orlov is still capable of at 31 years old; a longer term will likely imply a lower cap hit, but it will be pricey all the same.

Orlov deserves to get paid this offseason, but he should definitely not be a player the Bruins break the bank for given their current cap situation. If the salary cap would have risen this season, rather than the potential boom that’s expected to happen in the coming seasons, then this discussion might be a different one. For now, though, the Bruins must remain cap-compliant and put a good team on the ice despite not getting salary cap relief this offseason. Though this seems like it might be the time to retool and look to fully turn the page onto a new chapter, team president Cam Neely and general manager Don Sweeney seem more interested in competing again next season rather than completely hitting the reset button.

The makeup of the Bruins’ roster heading into the 2023-24 season is entirely up in the air. From top to bottom, it’s hard to fully predict exactly who will stay and who will be a casualty of the salary cap.