The most important Boston Bruins free agent this summer is Morgan Geekie.
The 26-year-old forward is coming off the best season of his NHL career. He scored 33 goals -- 16 more than the previous campaign. He actually became the first B's player not named Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand or David Pastrnak to score 30-plus goals since Loui Eriksson did it in 2015-16.
It's not like Geekie padded his stats by scoring a bunch of power-play goals, either. He was highly effective at 5-on-5. In fact, his 26 goals at 5-on-5 this season were tied for the second-most in the league and led the Bruins.
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SIGN UP HERE Geekie is able to become a restricted free agent in July, so the Bruins do have some control over his future. He's also eligible for arbitration if the two sides have trouble reaching a new contract.
Geekie is hoping that process is not needed.
"We hope it doesn't come to that. Obviously, no one wants to go to arbitration. It's not a fun time for anybody," Geekie told reporters Thursday during the team's end-of-season media availability.
"I'm gonna prepare like I'm gonna be at training camp on Day 1. It's not something I'm going to give too much thought about. I'll leave it up to my agent and Don (Sweeney) and Cam (Neely), just go about my business and things will play out how they're gonna play out. I love playing in Boston. My family loves it here. It's one of those things I really hope works out, and we'll see where it goes."
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It sounds like term will likely be important to Geekie in his next deal.
"Any time you can stick around -- like I said, I love it here. I'd love to be here as long as I can," Geekie said. "That's definitely a goal, especially with a family now, being able to be in one spot would be awesome."
Geekie also added: "If it was up to me, I'd like to stay as long as I can. I can't say enough good things about the organization and the guys and the culture here. I would love to stay as long as I could."
Players who score 30-plus goals are not easy to find, and they are expensive. Geekie's current contract that will soon expire is a two-year deal worth $2 million per season. He deserves a large raise in his next contract. And when you consider the Bruins' lack of scoring depth, re-signing Geekie needs to be a top priority.
The Bruins are projected to have around $28 million in salary cap space this summer, per PuckPedia. Geekie and defenseman Mason Lohrei (also an RFA) are Boston's most notable internal free agents.