The Boston Bruins bought out the final two years of defenseman Dennis Seidenberg’s contract, the team announced Thursday.
The buyout makes Seidenberg an unrestricted free agent who is free to sign with any other NHL team.
“It’s a shock,” Seidenberg told the Boston Herald. “(Bruins general manager) Donnie (Sweeney) called me (this morning) and he said it was a tough call to make, but he had to buy me out, that they were going with the kids. Told me I was a great guy and that was it.”
Seideiberg’s salary was $4 million each of the next two seasons. By making the move, the Bruins will lessen their cap hit to $1.166 milion in 2016-17. Thereafter, it will be $2.166 million in 2017-18, $1.116 million in 2018-19 and $1.116 million in 2019-20.
The 13-year-veteran has 39 goals, 185 points and 310 penalty minutes in 758 career games with Boston, Florida, Carolina, Arizona and Philadelphia. The 34-year-old Seidenberg added three goals and 18 assists in 69 career playoff games.
Seidenberg came to the Bruins before the trade deadline in 2010. The following season he had career highs with seven goals and 32 points in 81 games and then helped Boston win the Stanley Cup.
Last season, Seidenberg finished with one goal and 11 assists in 61 games.
Krug inks 4-year, $21M extension
The Boston Bruins signed defenseman Torey Krug on Thursday to a four-year contract through the 2019-20 season worth an average annual value of $5.25 million.
Krug, 25, just completed his fourth season in the Bruins organization, playing in a career-high 81 games while recording four goals and 40 assists with 33 penalty minutes and a plus-9 rating. He led all Bruins defensemen in assists and points and was second in time on ice per game (21:36) to Zdeno Chara (24:05).
In 2014-15, Krug played in 78 games with Boston, scoring 12 goals while adding 27 assists with a plus-13 rating. In his career, the 5-foot-9, 186-pound blue-liner has played in 241 games with Boston, producing 30 goals and 95 assists with 81 penalty minutes and a plus-39 rating.
The Michigan native was originally signed by the Bruins as a free agent on March 25, 2012.