General Manager of the Boston Bruins Don Sweeney announced on Friday that the organization has signed defensemen Alec Regula and Michael Callahan to one-year, two-way contracts, each having a $775,000 salary budget charge.
During the 2023–24 American Hockey League season, Callahan, 24, appeared in 70 games with the Providence Bruins, tallying four goals and thirteen assists. With 140 AHL games played, all with Providence, the 6-foot-2, 196-pound defenceman has totaled six goals and 21 assists. Callahan played 138 games over his four seasons at Providence College, tallying 13 goals and 53 assists. The native of Franklin, Massachusetts, was chosen in the fifth round of the 2018 NHL selection by the Arizona Coyotes. On February 22, 2022, Boston acquired him in exchange for a seventh-round selection pick.
During the 2023–24 season, Regula, who is 23 years old, played in 55 games for the Providence Bruins, tallying four goals, 22 assists, and a plus–36 rating. In 163 AHL games with Providence and the Rockford IceHogs, the 6-foot-4, 218-pound defenceman has skated for 16 goals, 61 assists, and a plus-42 rating. In his 22 NHL appearances, Regula has only scored one goal with the Chicago Blackhawks. The native of West Bloomfield, Michigan, was selected by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round (67th overall) of the 2018 NHL Draft. On June 26, 2003, the team traded forwards Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to Boston for defenseman Ian Mitchell.
ALSO, Boston acquires a draft pick in 2024 Daniela Pejsova.
Daniela Pejsova, a defender for PWHL Boston, signed a three-year deal that runs through the 2026–2027 season, the team announced on Thursday.
Pejsova declared, “(I’m) definitely looking forward to donning the green and white jerseys.” “I’m going to try my hardest to represent Boston both on and off the ice! Looking forward to seeing what this new chapter has in store for me.
Boston took Pejsova with the seventh overall pick in the 2024 PWHL Draft. The 21-year-old from Teplice, Czechia spent six seasons playing for Lulea HF and Modo HC, the latter of which she won two championships.
They competed internationally, winning two bronze medals at the IIHF World Championship. They were also named the Best Defender of the competition in 2022. She competed for Czechoslovakia in the Beijing Olympics of 2022.
In regard to Bruins forward David Pastrnak, Boston General Manager Danielle Marmer stated in the organization’s press release that the NHL team isn’t the only one in town with a Czech talent to be pleased about.
According to Marmer, “Daniela is an explosive and dynamic defender with bite to her game.” Even at the young age of 21, she is an innate competitor who is eager to make an impression on the ice every time she steps onto it. During her three years in Boston, and hopefully long after, I can’t wait to watch her elevate her game.
For a player like Daniela, there is no ceiling, Marmer said.
Pejsova joins Sydney Bard and Hannah Bilka as the third athlete selected by Boston in the 2024 draft class to sign a formal contract with the team.
Third in the league, Boston had a 12-9-3 record the previous season. They defeated PWHL Minnesota in five games after defeating PWHL Montreal in the opening round of the Walter Cup Playoffs.
RELATED: Swayman’s Next Bruins Contract May Set the Stage for Shesterkin and Demko’s Upcoming Salary Increases.
The Boston Bruins signed center Elias Lindholm and powerful defender Nikita Zadorov to multi-year contracts, making some of the greatest free-agent acquisitions of the 2024 off-season.
In the near and long terms, though, their biggest signing is still pending. It might use up the majority of their current $8.6 million salary cap space, if not all of it. Naturally, we’re talking about elite goalie and RFA Jeremy Swayman. The 25-year-old earned a significant bump from the $3.475 million he made in 2023–24 after taking over as the starting pitcher in Boston this past season.
Before becoming a UFA ahead of the 2026–2027 season, Swayman may sign a bridge deal that would carry him through those two seasons. However, we believe Bruins general manager Don Sweeney will make Swayman an offer for a longer-term contract that will at least quadruple his income starting in the following season. This is mostly because Swayman would most likely begin discussions for a $7 million contract each season if he were to hit the open market. For Swayman’s services, there would be no shortage of suitors prepared to pay at least that much, if not much more.
Agents for other elite goalies are undoubtedly keeping a close eye on Swayman’s contract developments.
Superstar goalie Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers and starting goalie Adin Hill of the Vegas Golden Knights will both be unrestricted free agents (UFAs) in the summer of 2026, while Thatcher Demko of the Vancouver Canucks will be a UFA in 2026. Although every team has its own internal budget to follow, the tide will rise for all goaltender boats if Swayman lashes out and strikes a deal that includes at least a $8 million cap impact.
The Golden Knights have already demonstrated on numerous occasions that, even following somewhat successful seasons, they are not averse to switching goalies. Since the team’s founding, goalies like as Hill, Marc-Andre Fleury, Robin Lehner, Logan Thompson, Laurent Brossoit, and Jonathan Quick have gone in and out of the Nevada organization on a steady rotation. Because of this, Hill could not have as much negotiating power as his teammates on other clubs. Given the Golden Knights’ evident lack of priority for goalie, Hill’s compensation from his $4.9 million salary in 2024–25 may not increase significantly, and his contract may only be for three or four years.
Nevertheless, Shesterkin and Demko have the potential to earn significantly more money than the $5.66 million and $5 million they will each get in the upcoming season. Next summer, Shesterkin will be 29 years old and in the prime of his career; backup Quick will be 39 and on the verge of retirement at that time. Even if 23-year-old Arturs Silovs is still a young player in Vancouver, the thought of allowing Demko, 28, to go causes Canucks supporters to lose their minds. Their upcoming contracts will reflect the importance of both Shesterkin and Demko to their team.
In 2023–24, Demko outperformed Swayman in terms of goals-against average (2.45) and save percentage (.918), while Shesterkin’s career statistics are even better (2.43,.921) despite having a somewhat inferior season by his standards. Every goalie should try to obtain a little bit more than what Swayman gets, even though he is three years younger.
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