NHL Free Agents: Boston Bruins Who Deserve a Contract Extension

Chris Kelly should be the next Boston Bruins player to receive a new contract extension. The team re-signed center David Krejci last week to a three-year extension and also signed winger Rich Peverley to a three-year extension in October.

The Bruins do a great job of signing players for just a few seasons, which allows the team not to be stuck with guys too long who under perform and gives an incentive to the player to perform well in order to receive another good contract.

Let's look at five Bruins whom the team should consider giving an extension to.

Tuukka Rask

Tuukka Rask is the future in goal for the Boston Bruins and has already proven he can be a legitimate No. 1 goaltender in the NHL.

Rask is an unrestricted free agent after this season whose salary cap hit for this year is $2.5 million.

In eight games this season Rask is 4-3-1, despite getting little offensive support earlier in the season, and has a good save percentage at .924.

Rask is ready to be a starter so it will be interesting too see what he chooses to do in the summer. Boston would be smart to re-sign him for the future because Tim Thomas is 37 years old and won't be an elite goaltender for too much longer.

Daniel Paille

Daniel Paille is a tremendous fourth-line player with a number of skills that adds some versatility to the Bruins roster.

Paille has tremendous speed and can even score goals as well. In the 2010 season he even spent time on the first line, including the playoffs.

Last season he became a staple of the fourth line with Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton to form the best fourth line in the league.

Paille's ability to create offense and kill penalties very well makes him a valuable member of the team that Boston cannot allow to leave.

Johnny Boychuk

Johnny Boychuk is a good two-way defenseman who really helps the team with his powerful slapshots from the point.

He is a dependable part of the team's power play and is able to score goals with his booming shots.

Boychuk is second on the Bruins in goals scored and plus/minus this season. He also is a physical presence on the ice that fits in well with the "Big and Bad" style of play that Boston uses to its advantage.

Boychuk is an unrestricted free agent after this season, and his cap hit this year is $1.875 million.

Shawn Thornton

Shawn Thornton is a respected player on the Bruins and provides excellent veteran leadership. His experience of winning a Stanley Cup prior to last season was valuable to Boston because many of the team's players hadn't won a Stanley Cup before last year.

Thornton changes games with his energy and intensity, but he plays very intelligently and is able to play very physical without taking penalties.

He is one of the better fourth-line players in hockey because of his toughness and the fact he kills penalties very well.

Thornton will likely spend the rest of his career in Boston, and it would be shocking if he did not re-sign with club after his current contract expires after this season.

Chris Kelly

Chris Kelly is one of the most underrated players in the NHL, and his defensive play is so important to the success of the Bruins.

Kelly has been a huge factor offensively this season and has scored 10 goals, which is tied with Milan Lucic for second on the team.

He is also third on the team with 16 points. Kelly is a very responsible player who is great in his own zone and does all the little things to help Boston.

Kelly is an alternate captain this season and provides great leadership for the Bruins. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season, but do not be surprised if the team signs him to an extension before next summer.

Follow Nicholas Goss on Twitter. Follow @NicholasGoss35.

Nicholas Goss is a Boston Bruins featured columnist for Bleacher Report and was the organization's on-site reporter for the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals in Boston.