Report: Dmitry Orlov ‘Looking Forward’ To Free Agency

A recent report out of Russia quoted Boston Bruins defenseman Dmitry Orlov as saying that he is ‘looking forward’ to becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1.

Per Google Translation this was Orlov to Sport-Express on June 2:

“This hasn’t happened to me. I won’t say that it’s scary, but I really look forward to when the market opens, negotiations begin. However, nothing is happening right now. Until July 1, I belong to Boston, so until that time I can only sign a new contract with them. But in a month everything will change. Of course, I would like a long contract, it gives stability and peace of mind. But there are many nuances, you can’t take everything into account.”

Credit to ProHockeyRumors.com for finding this interview with the Boston Bruins defenseman.

As expected, the NHL betting odds that Orlov returns to the Bruins appear to be slim.

This report out of Russia on Orlov’s intentions heading into his first chance at NHL free agency comes on the heels of a report that indicated the Boston Bruins would rather sign the 31-year-old defenseman and trade 29-year-old rearguard Hampus Lindholm to do so.

On Friday, 98.5 The Sports Hub producer James Stewart reported that Boston Bruins winger and potential unrestricted free agent winger Tyler Bertuzzi is looking for $7 million per season if he hits the NHL free agent market. Stewart also said that one of the ways the Boston Bruins are trying to find the salary cap space to bring Bertuzzi, and Dmitry Orlov back on a long-term deals is to shop defenseman 29-year-old defenseman Hampus Lindholm who is entering the second year of an eight-year, $52 million contract that carries a $6.5 million cap hit.

“The Bruins are quote “obsessed” with Orlov to the point where they like Orlov more than they like Lindholm. The Bruins might have buyer’s remorse with Lindholm, and he’s available in a trade,” said Stewart, who also mentioned the NHL trade chatter, that has been reported here, that has Boston Bruins winger Taylor Hall ($6M AAV the next two seasons), as a salary cap casualty.

Boston Hockey Now poked around on that and while one former NHL Executive source said he had heard the same thing, two current NHL executive sources saying they had no knowledge of Lindholm being available with one joking:

“If he is, I hope Donny [Bruins general manager Don Sweeney] calls me!”

This Orlov report out of Russia just makes that Lindholm NHL trade rumor even more unlikely if Orlov is intent on hitting the NHL free agent market on July 1. Orlov is already on record as saying he has interest in returning to the Washington Capitals.

“We’ll see,” Orlov said back on May 2. “It’s tough. Probably, yeah. They’re going to talk to my agent. How I see it, if they trade me, I don’t think it’s going to work out. But we’ll see.”

If I was an NHL betting man, I’d say Orlov is as good as gone.