I kinda get it from a money perspective... but if they want to build out a competitive roster going forward, this is a bad sign. Frederic was absolutely one of the best Bruins forwards at even-strength and only the B's crazy depth and occasional inconsistency caused him to spend time upstairs.
Whoever gets him (if indeed the B's don't retain him) will be adding a physical, surprisingly skillful forward who is an easy top-9er at the LW and probably at the center. He's a capable defensive forward as well. He got hardly any man-advantage time in Boston but I think he would be a good netfront guy (or below-the-line) on a second unit. I would not be shocked if he turns into a 25-20-45 defensively-responsible middle-sixer with whoever grabs him for '23-'24.