The Bruins announced today that they’ve re-signed defensemen Michael Callahan and Alec Regula to one-year, two-way contracts with $775K cap hits. Their AHL salaries were not disclosed. Both were RFAs after receiving qualifying offers last month.
Callahan, 24, has yet to make his NHL debut but solidified himself as a full-timer with AHL Providence in his second full professional season last year. He set career-highs across the board with three goals, 14 assists and 17 points in 70 appearances, posting a -14 rating while serving as an alternate captain.
He has good speed for his 6’2″, 201-lb frame and projected as a defensively sound two-way blue liner. However, it looks like he’ll be more of a stay-at-home type at the pro level, especially if he ever cracks the NHL. That’s far from a given and would be a solid return on the Bruins’ investment – they initially acquired Callahan’s signing rights from the Coyotes for a 2024 seventh-round pick (later traded to the Oilers, used to select D Bauer Berry) as he was wrapping up his collegiate career at Providence in 2022. He was initially a fifth-round pick of Arizona in 2018 out of the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms.
Meanwhile, Regula returns to Boston still in search of his first NHL games since being acquired from the Blackhawks in last summer’s Taylor Hall trade. The 6’4″ right-shot defenseman turns 24 in August and was dominant on assignment to Providence last season after clearing waivers, leading the AHL with a +36 rating despite only playing in 55 games. He added four goals and 22 assists for 26 points, displaying solid puck-moving ability and reiterating that he likely has a future as an everyday NHLer somewhere down the line.
After such a performance, the Regula clearing waivers next fall isn’t a given. The Sharks took a flier on a similarly cast defender with little to no NHL experience off the waiver wire in Ty Emberson last season, turning him into a full-time NHLer as one of their top matchup options. Their situations aren’t exactly congruent, though. Emberson, who had been playing in the Rangers organization, had no NHL experience at the time of his claim, while Regula has 22 appearances under his belt across parts of three seasons with Chicago, recording a goal and a -5 rating.
Nonetheless, both could return as reinforcements on a Providence blue line that’s looking rather crowded. Boston added some veteran help for their affiliate in the form of UFAs Jordan Oesterle and Billy Sweezey last week.