BostonBruins.com – The Bruins took care of another restricted free agent on Tuesday, locking up winger Karson Kuhlman with a two-year contract worth an NHL cap hit of $725,000. It is a two-way deal for the upcoming 2020-21 campaign and a one-way deal for the 2021-22 season.

Kuhlman, who is the third RFA to be signed by Boston this offseason after Matt Grzelcyk and Jakub Zboril, certainly has some competition to secure a spot on the right side. In addition to David Pastrnak, Ondrej Kase, and Chris Wagner, the Bruins signed right-shot winger Craig Smith earlier this month, while fellow youngster and unsigned RFA Zach Senyshyn will also be angling for playing time.

“My expectations from myself are to go into camp kind of like I did last year. Go in there and play my game and be able to help the team right off the bat,” Kuhlman said when asked if the two-way portion of the contract could mean that he finds himself in a battle for a spot with the big club this season.

“Now, obviously it’s a great roster. We’re deep. My expectations of myself are to be there and to continue to get better and to help the team out as much as possible.”

The 25-year-old knows that he’ll have to find a way to separate himself if he wants to secure a place on the roster, and that means improving his finishing tough. Over the past two seasons, Kuhlman has shown an ability to provide a spark whenever he enters the lineup but has notched just four goals in 36 games.

“Hardest thing to do in hockey is put the puck in the net,” said Kuhlman, who has also suited up for 13 postseason games over the past two years. “And coming in, I’ve just been trying to watch the guys that do it consistently, what they do and how they go about their business and how pucks kind of find them in scoring areas and how they capitalize on it.

“Obviously, taking all that and kind of adding to my own game and putting a lot of time in. That’s kind of one of things I’ve been focusing on this summer is being better around the net and finishing opportunities when they’re there.”