Bruins Sign Carlo To Two-Year $5.7 Million Contract

Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney wasn’t lying when he told the media Sunday that the team had enough to sign their remaining restricted free agent, defenseman Brandon Carlo. Early Tuesday morning, Sweeney and the Bruins announced that they had signed the RFA blueliner to a two-year deal worth $5.7 million that carries an annual salary cap hit of $2.85 million.

The Bruins now have $1.1 million in salary cap space, but as Sweeney has pointed out they do have the option of gaining up to $5.2 million in space if they put defensemen Kevan Miller ($2.5 million) and John Moore ($2.7 million) on long-term injury reserve.

“It depends on the term of the next deal,” Sweeney said Sunday when asked if he’d use that avenue. “We have obviously the opportunity to do that if we need to, because [John Moore] is not going to start the season. Kevan [Miller] won’t start the season either [for LTIR purposes].”

Carlo, 22, had a breakthrough season in 2018-19 becoming a shutdown defenseman on the team’s second pairing with Torey Krug. The 6’5, 212-pound rearguard had two goals and eight assists in 72 regular season games last season. Then in his first Stanley Cup playoff experience after being injured for the playoffs his first two seasons in the league, Carlo had two goals and two assists in 24 games. He became a major minutes eater for the Bruins in the playoffs averaging 21:31 on ice during the team’s run to Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final.

Sweeney and Carlo are scheduled to address the media at Noon ET Tuesday.