Pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Andrew Ference stated that he will not be returning to the Boston Bruins next season during his end-of-season media availability on Wednesday.
NHL free agency 2013: Andrew Ference unlikely to return to Bruins
Due to the declining salary cap, pending unrestricted free agent defenseman Andrew Ference believes he will not be retained by the Boston Bruins.
Jared Wickerham
Ference completed the final year of a three-year, $6.75 million contract that carried an annual average value of $2.25 million against the salary cap. Given the declining nature of the cap in 2013-14 to $64.3 million, Ference believes there will not be enough available cap space for manager Peter Chiarelli to extend him a competitive offer.
Andrew:"with the current cap, Peter's not going to be able to keep me. He's got to resign Tuukka & obviously do his side of the business"^CS
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) June 26, 2013
Ference has spent the last seven seasons with the Bruins and has been identified as a player central to the team’s leadership corps.
Unfortunately, the declining salary cap is a component that the majority of NHL teams will be forced to deal with this offseason and could result in several players looking for employment with new clubs that might not have been in previous seasons.
This is especially true for the Bruins, as goaltender Tuukka Rask is a restricted free agent and is reportedly seeking a contract that pays in the $6.5 million-per-season range. In addition, the team has other areas that need to be filled out. Meaning, Ference might not be the only Bruin playing for a new team next season.
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