Bruins could face salary cap squeeze in trying to extend F Jarome Iginla

Boston Bruins forward Jarome Iginla has exceeded all reasonable expectations in his inaugural campaign in Boston. 

The cagey 36-year-old power forward has appeared in 76 games for the Bruins, and has contributed 30 goals and 61 points. In the process, the forward has cashed in on nearly all of the bonuses he was eligible to receive per the terms of his unique one-year deal with Boston.

Iginla's base salary is $1.8 million, however, his deal (which carries a $1.8 million cap-hit) is loaded with $4.2 million in potential bonuses, the vast bulk of which Iginla has already qualified for. Iginla has already reached the "games played" bonus threshold in his deal - worth $3.7 million - and will earn an additional $250,000 should the Bruins reach the Eastern Conference Final, and another $250,000 should the Bruins capture the Stanley Cup; hockey's ultimate prize.  

Here's the rub, however: the bonus money Iginla has earned this season will count against the salary cap for the Boston Bruins next season. It's a situation that could put the Bruins in a bit of a bind as they look to re-sign the future Hall of Fame forward this summer.

The Boston Globe's Fluto Shinzawa lays out the tricky salary cap situation facing Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli this summer:

The Bruins are projected to carry an approximate $4.5 million penalty in 2014-15 for exceeding this season’s $64.3 million cap via bonuses due to Iginla, Dougie Hamilton, and Torey Krug. Teams estimate the cap will be around $70 million next season. The Bruins have about $62 million committed to next season’s payroll. They can exceed the cap by $4 million by exercising the long-term injury exception on Marc Savard as they did this season. But Krug, Matt Bartkowski, Reilly Smith, and Jordan Caron are scheduled to become restricted free agents. So is Niklas Svedberg, projected to be Tuukka Rask’s backup.

Krug, Smith, and Bartkowski could double their current salaries. If so, the Bruins would have trouble re-signing Iginla to a multiyear extension, which he probably deserves. Iginla would have to be willing to accept a similar deal: a one-year contract heavily stacked with bonuses. Teams are not allowed to include bonuses on a multiyear contract to a player 35 or older.

Obviously when a team has good players meeting performance bonuses, it's generally a positive thing. But it can necessitate some difficult choices - just ask Blackhawks general manager Stan Bowman.