The Boston Bruins are at a crossroads.
On one hand, their 76 points (33-39-10) and failure to make the playoffs just two years removed from the most successful regular season in NHL history (65-12-5 for 135 points) should signal a decline and a need to rebuild. They also traded their captain, Brad Marchand, to the rival Florida Panthers, where it looks like he will play out the rest of his career.
On the other hand, the Bruins still have plenty of cornerstone players such as forward David Pastrňák, defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Mason Lohrei, and goaltender Jeremy Swayman, and could feel like reloading, not rebuilding, is their best course of action.
According to NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman, Boston has agreed to a five-year, $3.4 million annual average contract with Tanner Jeannot.
Jeannot, 28, brings a toughness and physicality unfound in these recent Bruins iterations. He is a north-south forward who is not afraid to chase pucks and win in the dirty areas. He will make for a solid, bottom-six winger who can hit, fight, and protect smaller skaters.
Jeannot is not going to provide much scoring pop, as his career high for goals (24), assists (17), and points (41) all came during the 2021-22 campaign with the Nashville Predators. Since then, he has played in over 67 games once (76 in 2022-23) and recorded 20 goals and 45 points over 198 games.
Perhaps Jeannot’s influence will rub off on a guy like Johnny Beecher, who has not quite developed into the bottom-six forward Boston fans might have hoped for after being selected 30th overall in the 2019 Draft.
The Bruins also recently traded for winger Viktor Arvidsson, another signal that this front office has no intentions of moving its stars and wants to recapture that 2022-23 regular season magic.
