Bruins sign Carlo to 6-year, $24.6M contract

The Boston Bruins have signed pending restricted free-agent defenseman Brandon Carlo to a six-year deal carrying an annual cap hit of $4.1 million, the team announced Wednesday.

Carlo, 24, has never reached the 20-point mark in a single season but is known more for his shutdown abilities. The 6-foot-6 blue-liner has posted strong defensive metrics over the past three campaigns:

"The Bruins are very pleased to have extended Brandon on a long-term deal," said Boston general manager Don Sweeney. "Brandon is a player who has grown into a foundational defenseman with our team while also emerging as an important leader on and off the ice."

The Bruins have over $26 million in projected cap space after signing Carlo, according to CapFriendly. But they have two remaining RFAs in Nick Ritchie and Ondrej Kase, as well as several key pending unrestricted free agents in Taylor Hall, David Krejci, Mike Reilly, Tuukka Rask, and Jaroslav Halak.