Bruins Will Reportedly Make Hard Push To Sign Defenseman Ryan Suter
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins will be on the hunt for a defenseman this offseason, searching for an ideal match for Brandon Carlo on the team's second pairing. And there is one veteran blue liner that Don Sweeney has reportedly set his sights set on with the puck about to drop on free agency.
According to Eliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in Canada, the expectation is that Boston is "going hard for Ryan Suter." Friedman went on to add that one source called Suter "the Corey Perry of 2021-22," referring to the veteran winger who signed with Montreal last offseason and helped get the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Final in 2021.
Suter, 36, is an unrestricted free agent after he was recently bought out by the Wild with four years remaining on his contract. He's a 16-year veteran who stands at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and is coming off a 2021 season where he tallied 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) and a plus-9 rating over 56 games. He's also pretty durable, playing 82 games four times over the last eight seasons. He played in every regular season game over the last three years, which included a pair of COVID-shortened campaigns.
Suter seems like an ideal candidate to line up next to Carlo on Boston's second defensive pairing, and according to Friedman, the Bruins will be making a strong push to land his services when free agency gets underway this week.