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It’s official: Bruins drop over $16 million to sign Kelly, Campbell

Campbell Kelly

Yesterday, we reported the Boston Bruins were close to extending the contracts of forwards Chris Kelly and Gregory Campbell.

Today, we can give you the details.

The Bruins gave Kelly $12 million over four years and Campbell $4.8 million over three, representing a pretty nice pay bump for each guy (Kelly gets around $900k more annually; Campbell $500k.)

The signings ....what does it mean for the Bruins’ financials moving forward?

For the answer, here’s CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty:

The salary cap for the 2012-13 season isn’t yet known and won’t be finalized until the CBA is ratified by the NHL and the NHLPA. But it would have been $70.3 million if the new CBA is modeled after the current agreement that expires in September, and the Bruins are currently at $64.9 million, according to capgeek.com. The $64.9 million includes the $5 million cap hit for Tim Thomas and the $4.007 million cap hit for Marc Savard, and both could be off the B’s books by the time next season rolls around. That leaves roughly $5 million in cap space -- or $14 million if they can clear Thomas off the ledger and place Savard on long term injured reserve with his debilitating post-concussion syndrome -- with the Bruins still looking to address restricted free agents Tuukka Rask and Benoit Pouliot as well secure at least one more top-nine forward to the mix. The Bruins also need one more defenseman to fill into the vacant spot left by Joe Corvo, and a $1.494 cap hit for Dougie Hamilton should the 18-year-old prove he’s ready to play in Boston next season.

To summarize: Boston will look very similar to last season. While there’s still the possibility for a trade, all signs point to the Bruins heading into 2012-13 with the group that earned 102 points last season and a second straight Northeast Division banner -- minus the services of Tim Thomas, of course.