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Boston Bruins sign Cole Koepke, Jeffrey Viel to league-minimum contracts

   

The Boston Bruins have signed wingers Cole Koepke and Jeffrey Viel to league minimum contracts that carry a $775,000 cap hit.

Koepke signs with the Bruins for just one season on his new deal. He was a Group 6 unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year league minimum contract that he signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning last season.

Koepke played 9 games with Lightning in the 2023-24 season, registering two assists on the year. He spent more time in the AHL with the Bolts’ minor league affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch, where he had 20 goals and 19 assists for 39 points in 53 regular season games, as well as 4 goals in 8 playoff games as the Crunch were swept in the Division Finals of the Calder Cup Playoffs by the Cleveland Monsters.

Unlike Koepke, Viel’s contract came with a little bit of term, as he was signed to a two-year contract. He was an unrestricted free agent after the conclusion of his one-year league minimum deal that he signed last season with the Winnipeg Jets.

Viel spent the entirety of last season in the AHL with the Jets’ minor league affiliate, the Manitoba Moose. He played 69 regular season games, where he had 17 goals, 23 assists and 40 points, and was also held pointless in two playoff games, as the Moose were swept in the first round by the Texas Stars.

Koepke and Viel’s contracts are two of eight signings that the Bruins have made on the first day of free agency, highlighted by the seven-year contract given to center Elias Lindholm and the six-year deal given to defenseman Nikita Zadorov. They have just under $8 million in projected salary cap space after the signing, with goaltender Jeremy Swayman being the only restricted free agent remaining on their NHL roster.

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