The Boston Bruins have announced that they have re-signed netminder Brandon Bussi to a one-year, two-way contract extension. Per the announcement, the deal has a cap hit of $775,000.
According to CapFriendly, the contract has an AHL salary of $100,000 and contains total guarantees of $140,000.
Bussi is a fast-rising young goalie who was recently named to the AHL’s All-Rookie team after an exceptional first season as the leader of a three-person goalie group with the Providence Bruins.
Now 24, Bussi was originally a signing by the Bruins last March. He inked a one-year entry-level deal at an $825k cap hit, plucked from the college ranks after a strong final season at Western Michigan University.
He started all of Western Michigan’s games in 2021-22 and went 26-12-1 with a .912 save percentage. After leaving college he got an early taste of pro action with AHL Providence near the end of 2021-22 on an ATO, and went 3-2 with a .920 save percentage in five games. He actually began this year at the ECHL level as the Bruins already had Kyle Keyser and veteran Keith Kinkaid entrenched as Providence’s goalie tandem.
But Bussi quickly proved himself to be overqualified for the ECHL, immediately stopping 75 out of 80 shots in his first two starts. He earned a call-up in November and didn’t look back. He went 22-5-4 in the AHL with a .924 save percentage and 2.40 goals-against-average.
While NHL opportunities might be difficult to come by in Boston as the Bruins already have Vezina Trophy frontrunner Linus Ullmark and the talented Jeremy Swayman in their crease. But another brilliant AHL campaign could see Bussi be a player of interest for other clubs and a potential trade asset for the Bruins, or could even force the team to choose between Ullmark and Swayman in order to provide Bussi with the chance to become a part of an NHL tandem.
In any case, he now has his contract for next season and will likely pair with Keyser as Providence’s goalie tandem for next season.