Recapping the Bruins’ July 1 Additions, ‘Feel Good About the Depth of Our Hockey Club’

BOSTON –– It was a busy time around the NHL as the free agency market opened on Wednesday afternoon. The Boston Bruins were active, through both signings and trades.

“We look at it as a successful day for the Boston Bruins. Over the last little bit, we addressed some areas we wanted to attack, and today was more focused on the backend. We feel good about the depth of our hockey club now,” general manager Don Sweeney said. “Some of the conversations obviously will extend beyond today – you just never know what might surface between now and throughout the year. But we did address the areas that we felt we needed to, and we need to continue to do that as we go forward to be a better club.”

Catch up on all the players the B’s brought into the organization on Wednesday below.

Connor Clifton

Connor Clifton is back in Boston. The 31-year-old defenseman, who spent the first five years of his career with the Bruins, signed a two-year contract through the 2027-28 season with an annual cap hit of $2.25 million.

“I think Connor remains confident,” Sweeney said. “We know Connor’s game. We know how comfortable he will be walking back into our locker room; contribute there on and off the ice. The competitive nature of the player hasn’t changed at all, and he brings an energy that our group is going to appreciate.”  

Since his opening stint with the B’s, Clifton played two seasons (2023-25) with the Buffalo Sabres and, most recently, skated for the Pittsburgh Penguins. He had six points (two goals, four assists) through 50 games last year. Clifton’s career-high showing was in 2022-23 in Boston, when he had 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 78 games.

Jordan Harris

Jordan Harris is also running it back with the Bruins. The 25-year-old defenseman agreed to a one-year, $850,000 deal.

The Haverhill, Massachusetts, native spent the 2025-26 season in Boston, but only played eight games – and logged three points (one goal, two assists) – after fracturing his ankle and undergoing surgery at the end of October. Harris, who played four years of NCAA hockey at Northeastern University, adds another option for the B’s on the backend.

Will Borgen

The Bruins further reinforced their D-corps by acquiring Will Borgen from the New York Rangers in exchange for a 2027 second-round pick and a 2028 conditional third-round pick.

“Will addresses some of the areas that we lose in Andrew Peeke, who was a really good contributor to our club, too. We wish him well,” Sweeney said. “Will’s got length, he skates well, he competes, he closes in the D-zone. Penalty killing is an area where we want to make sure we continue to take maybe a little load off of Charlie in some of those situations as a primary guy. So we can spread that around a little bit. We just like his overall experience; we like the size of the player and his overall attributes that he’s going to come in and complement our group.”

Borgen, 29, has played the last two seasons with the Rangers. The right-shot defenseman had 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) through 75 regular-season games during 2025-26. Borgen was originally selected in the fourth round of the 2015 NHL Draft by the Buffalo Sabres; he had two years with the organization before playing for the Seattle Kraken from 2021 to 2024.

Kalle Vaisanen, 2028 Fourth-Round Pick

​The Bruins acquired forward Kalle Vaisanen and a 2028 fourth-round draft pick from the New York Rangers in exchange for goaltender Joonas Korpisalo.​

Korpisalo, who has two years remaining on his contract with a $4 million average annual value, spent the last two seasons with the Bruins. His departure presents a chance for Michael DiPietro to battle for the backup spot behind Jeremy Swayman. DiPietro earned his second consecutive Aldege “Baz” Bastien Memorial Award this season as the AHL’s most outstanding goaltender. The 27-year-old netminder posted a 1.91 goals against average and .930 save percentage through 45 games in the regular season.​

“We just feel that Michael has earned this opportunity,” Sweeney said. “It is just a real good opportunity for him now to come in and take the last two years in particular and apply it to the National Hockey League. You are never going to know unless you get that opportunity, and at some point in time, the team has to provide it.”  

Vaisanen played for the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL in 2025-26. The 6-foot-5, 200-pound winger had four points (three goals, one assist) in 51 games. Vaisanen was originally a fourth-round pick of the Rangers in the 2021 NHL Draft.

Two-Way Contracts

Luke Cavallin signed a one-year, two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $850,000. The 25-year-old goaltender posted a 2.35 GAA and .917 SV% through 34 games in the ECHL with the Maine Mariners during the 2025-26 season. Cavallin also logged eight games in the AHL with the Providence Bruins and had a 2.47 GAA and .910 SV%.

Forwards Brendan Gaunce and Brian Halonen both agreed to two-year, two-way contracts with an $875,000 annual NHL cap hit. Gaunce, 32, was the captain of the Cleveland Monsters (Columbus Blue Jackets AHL affiliate) last season and had 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 44 games. He previously played in Providence during the 2019-20 campaign. Halonen has spent his whole career in the New Jersey Devils organization. Last year, he had 34 points (20 goals, 14 assists) in 51 AHL games with the Utica Comets. He played 19 total NHL games for the Devils over three seasons.​

Maxence Guenette agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract with an $850,000 NHL cap hit. The 25-year-old defenseman, who was originally selected by the Ottawa Senators in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft, skated in 46 games for the Lehigh Valley Phantoms last season after getting traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in November 2025. Guenette had 24 points (two goals, 22 assists) in 46 games.

The Bruins also agreed to terms with Jiri Patera on a one-year, two-way contract with an $850,000 NHL cap hit. The 6-foot-3, 212-pound goaltender appeared in 30 AHL games with the Abbotsford Canucks during the 2025-26 season, posting a 12-14-2 record with a 2.63 GAA, .910 SV% and one shutout.