Signing Mike Reilly to a Three-Year Contract, the Boston Bruins

Mike Reilly, who the Boston Bruins acquired from the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline, covered an injury-plagued hole on the left side of their defense. The Bruins secured what looked to be a two-month rental for three more years because things were going so well.

Tuesday night, Reilly consented to a $9 million, three-year contract with an annual average value (AAV) of $3 million. After the season, he will receive a pay increase in addition to the $1.5 million AAV he received the previous two seasons on a $3 million contract that he signed with the Senators in June 2019.

Reilly Joins the Bruins Again
Reilly had already set a career high with the Ottawa Senators with 19 assists through the first 40 games of the 56-game shorter 2020–21 season. The Boston blueline was severely injured, so general manager of the Bruins Don Sweeney filled a need before the trade deadline in April by moving Reilly to Ottawa in exchange for a 2022 third-round pick.

Reilly’s plus/minus of plus-7 and eight points in 15 games showed that he was the left-shot defenceman the Bruins needed. Having recorded four assists in his opening five games with the Black and Gold, it did not take him long to become comfortable in Boston. In the regular season, he averaged 21:04 as one of Boston’s top four defensemen. However, in the playoffs, he upped his time on the ice by 25 seconds per game and recorded four assists in 11 games, marking his first-ever postseason trip.

THW’s Free Agent Signing Tracker is related.

Reilly was chosen by the Columbus Blue Jackets in the fourth round of the 2011 Entry Draft, 98th overall, and has since moved about with.

the Senators, Minnesota Wild, and Montreal Canadiens before to being dealt to Boston. He was moved from the Canadiens on January 3, 2020, and in 30 games with the Senators before to the 2020–21 season, he recorded 11 assists.

Where in Boston Does He Fit In?
Although Reilly can play anywhere on the left, he would prefer to be in a second pairing, which is what he did most of the time in Boston with Brandon Carlo. A shrewd puck-moving defenceman with good ice vision, he can spell minutes on the second power play unit and be a valuable 5-on-5 player in defensive zone faceoffs in the closing minutes of the game. Above all, he provides the Bruins with a degree of defensive depth. He would ideally be the third pairing for Boston, who are hoping to add a top-four blueliner in the coming days.

The Bruins still have $17 million in salary room after re-signing Taylor Hall on July 23. Once Reilly’s contract is official, free agency will start on Wednesday at noon. They still need a goalkeeper, a top-four left-shot defenseman, and a middle-six forward, wing, or center. Even if he re-signs with Boston, veteran goalie Tuukka Rask is a free agent and won’t be able to play until January or February of 2022 because he needs surgery to repair a damaged hip labrum.