The Boston Bruins locked up one of their rising young forwards to a new contract extension but it could also put them in a tight squeeze for next season's payroll. 

Rugged power forward Milan Lucic, who was eligible for restricted free agency next summer, re-signed a three-year, $12.25 million contract extension with the Bruins, which counts as $4.083 million per season against their cap starting in 2010-11. 

It's a worthwhile signing by the Bruins as the 21-year-old Lucic is a growing force as a power forward and could become one of the best in the league over the next three-five seasons, and it was best for management to get him under contract now rather than risk a potential contract hassle similar to that they had with winger Phil Kessel, whom they wound up shipping to the Toronto Maple Leafs last month. 

Unfortunately it also pushes their payroll for next season to over $41 million committed to 11 players, and if the salary cap remains stagnant or declines. The Bruins have several key players eligible for UFA status next season (Marc Savard, Shawn Thornton and Derek Morris) plus Blake Wheeler, Mark Stuart and Tuukka Rask are eligible for restricted free agent status. 

If the Bruins hope to retain most or all of them it could mean shipping out some other players to free up the necessary roster space. 

Don't expect Lucic however to be among the trade bait. 

- The Montreal Canadiens dipped into a limited unrestricted free agent pool to find a short-term replacement for injured star defenseman Andrei Markov, inking former Minnesota Wild blueliner Marc-Andre Bergeron to a one-year, $750K contract. 

Bergeron will report to their farm club in Hamilton for conditioning and is expected to join the Habs later this month. 

The 29-year-old has good offensive skills, including a wicked point shot, which should come in handy in power-play situations for the Canadiens. Bergeron had 14 goals and 32 points in 72 games with the Wild. 

He has however faced criticism for his defensive play, which explains why he's now on his fifth NHL team since 2006-07. 

As a short-term replacement however his experience in offensive situations should prove beneficial for the Canadiens until Markov returns early next year.