Both the 2005 and 2006 seasons represented a changing of the tides for the Boston Bruins.
Over the span of those two years, Mike O’Connell, Jeff Gorton and Peter Chiarelli orchestrated a number of moves that uprooted the Original Six franchise — dealing away Joe Thornton, adding Zdeno Chara and investing in the future with youngsters like Patrice Bergeron.
Given the amount of upheaval felt in those two years, we figured we’d take a long look at all the moves taken in the post-lockout era that have allowed Boston to keep a Cup-contending window open for over a decade now.
First up, we’re going to rank all of the Bruins’ free-agent signings since the 2005-06 season — from mega-deals that transformed the franchise to one-year contracts that rounded out Boston’s bench.
In terms of parameters for which players did / did not make the cut:
- The free agent needed to play at least 40 games with the Bruins, or at least 10 games for goalies. So, alas, guys like Brian Gionta and Simon Gagné aren’t under consideration.
- Players claimed directly off of waivers also don’t make the list — sorry, Landon Ferraro.
- Both NHL UFAs and college free agents are up for grabs in this ranking, while an RFA that needed to be traded to Boston before inking a deal, like Jimmy Hayes, isn’t eligible.
After going through Part 1 on Friday, here’s Part II of our selections, plus additional news and notes:
21 - Noel Acciari, Winger
Signed 2-year, $1.85 million contract on June 3, 2015
180 GP - 18 goals, 13 assists, 80 PIM - 12:13 ATOI
After leading Providence College to an NCAA title in 2015, Acciari signed with Boston that June — giving it a physical, two-way skater that was primed to rise through the ranks in short order.
Regarded by Bruce Cassidy as one of the cleanest checkers in the NHL, Acciari was often known for his punishing hits whenever he hopped over the boards — but rarely put himself in the crosshairs of the officials for his tenacious style of play.
A fourth-line staple during his tenure with Boston, Acciari’s ability to throw his weight around on the forecheck was a key ingredient in what made the Acciari-Kuraly-Wagner line so effective down the stretch for the B’s in 2019.
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20 - Miroslav Satan, Winger
Signed 1-year, $700,000 contract on January 2, 2010
38 GP (+13 playoff games) - 14 goals, 10 assists - 15:46 ATOI
Who could forget “Miro The Hero?”
A key mid-season pickup for the Bruins, Satan inked a one-year, $700,000 deal with Boston just after the new year in 2010 — with the veteran left winger providing an added scoring punch to the B’s middle-six grouping.
Already a solid value add due to his regular-season totals, Satan proved himself to be a bargain thanks to his postseason heroics — as he tallied 10 points over 13 contests during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Satan tormented the Sabres throughout Boston’s opening-round matchup against Buffalo — scoring a double-overtime goal in Game 4 before securing the game-winning tally in Game 6.
19 - Anton Khudobin, Goaltender
Signed a 2-year, $2.4 million contract on July 1, 2016
47 GP - 23-12-8, .910 save percentage, 2.59 GAA, 1 shutout
Even if the numbers may not exactly stand out when compared to a few of the other netminders that have logged minutes as Tuukka Rask’s backupsover the last couple of years, Khudobin was a key cog for Boston during the 2017-18 season — going 16-6-7 over 31 outings.
Khudobin’s steady play in net under increased minutes allowed Boston to significantly cut down on Rask’s workload over the course of the season — a strategy that Boston doubled down on by adding Jaroslav Halak to the roster in the summer of 2018.
18 - Benoit Pouliot, Winger
Signed 1-year, $1.1 million contract on July 1, 2011
74 GP - 16 goals, 16 assists - 12:13 ATOI
Even though Pouliot never lived up to the high expectations as the fourth overall pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, he was awfully effective in his lone season with Boston — excelling in a bottom-six role on another talented Bruins club.
Signed at a bargain price of $1.1 million, Pouliot tallied 16 goals — the third-highest total of his career — for the Bruins, helping to pick up some of the scoring slack lost when a middle-six regular in Michael Ryder departed in free agency during the summer of 2011.
With Boston already dealing with cap constraints – and with Chiarelli expecting Jordan Caron to step up into a regular starting role (whoops!) — the Bruins dealt Pouilot’s rights to Tampa Bay just before the 2012 NHL Draft.
17 - Dominic Moore, Center
Signed 1-year, $1 million contract on August 30, 2016
82 GP - 11 goals, 14 assists - 12:57 ATOI
A free-agent pickup just ahead of training camp in 2016, Moore excelled in his lone season as Boston’s fourth-line center, tallying 25 points — the fifth-highest scoring total of his lengthy career — while chipping in on the B’s PK unit.
16 - Stephane Yelle, Center
Signed 1-year, $750,000 contract on September 3, 2008
77 GP - 7 goals, 11 assists, 32 PIM - 13:16 ATOI
One of the unsung heroes on a 2008-09 Bruins team that paced the entire Eastern Conference with 116 points, Yelle was a bargain pickup for Boston with a cap hit of just $750,000.
Despite the small price tag, Yelle was a defensive specialist in Boston’s bottom-six, often tasked with shutting down opposing top-six forwards, night in and night out. For his efforts in his lone season in Boston, Yelle even received a vote for the 2008-09 Selke Trophy.
15 - Chad Johnson, Goaltender
Signed 1-year, $600,000 contract on July 5, 2013
27 GP - 17-4-3, .925 save percentage, 2.10 GAA, 2 shutouts
After only appearing in four games up in the NHL ranks during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Johnson was handed his first full-time gig with Boston the following campaign.
While Rask’s strong play earned him the Vezina Trophy following the 2013-14 season, Johnson excelled in a backup role for the B’s — posting a .925 save percentage and a pair of shutouts.
Having only been paid at a bargain value of $600,000, Johnson went elsewhere following his lone campaign with Boston — inking a two-year, $2.6 million contract with the Islanders on July 1, 2014.
14 - Chris Wagner, Winger
Signed 2-year, $2.5 million contract on July 1, 2018
143 GP - 18 goals, 11 assists, 98 PIM - 12:59 ATOI
Signed with the expectation of being a pugnacious, fourth-line contributor back in July 2018, Wagner quickly endeared himself to the hometown crowd — setting a career high in goals (12) while ranking 11th in the NHL in total hits (247) during his first year with Boston.
For his efforts, Wagner was awarded the Bruins’ 2018-19 7th Player Award — handed out via a fan vote each year to the Bruin that exceeds the most expectations during that campaign.
With the Walpole native now signed through 2023, look for Wagner to continue to solidify his status as a fourth-line linchpin with the Black and Gold.
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13 - Tim Schaller, Winger
Signed 1-year, $600,000 contract on July 1, 2016
141 GP - 19 goals, 17 assists, 65 PIM - 12:51 ATOI
Over his two seasons in Boston, Schaller only made a whopping $1.375 million in terms of a total cap hit.
Not only did the New Hampshire native not lighten the Bruins’ wallet, he far exceeded expectations as an impactful bottom-six regular. A tenacious forechecker with a pretty sweet set of hands, Schaller was a free-agent coup for Boston, closing out his final year in Boston with a career-high 22 points and over 13 minutes of average ice time per game.
Since departing Boston via free agency, the “Granite Man” has only tallied 12 points over 100 games with both the Canucks and Kings.
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12 - Kevan Miller, Defenseman
Signed 2-year, $1.16 million contract on October 21, 2011
324 GP - 12 goals, 55 assists, 261 PIM - 18:24 ATOI
Even after a solid four-year career at Vermont, a road to the NHL was far from set in stone for Miller — who signed an amateur tryout contract with the Providence Bruins before eventually signing an entry-level deal just a few games into his AHL career.
He may not be the flashiest player on the B’s roster, but the California native more than made it up for with grit and an intimidating style of play that quickly made him one of the more feared players in the league when he finally cracked a spot up in the NHL.
Miller’s smash-mouth mentality and competing with reckless abandon ultimately might cost him what’s left of his NHL career, with the veteran still working his way back from a pair of devastating knee injuries.
Still, it’d be unwise to count Miller out — as the blueliner was voted as the Bruins’ nominee for the 2019-20 Masterton Trophy, given annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to ice hockey.
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11- Blake Wheeler, Winger
Signed 2-year, $5.625 million contract on July 1, 2008 ($1.75 million cap hit)
221 GP - 50 goals, 60 assists, 131 PIM - 14:52 ATOI
Had Wheeler managed to stick around longer than his 2 ½ seasons in Boston, he would certainly be much higher up on this list — given that the talented winger has racked up an impressive 651 points in 710 games with the Thrashers/Jets since getting dealt back on February 18, 2011.
Even though his time in Boston was short-lived, Wheeler did flash plenty of potential — with Boston out-bidding other clubs to sign the former 5th overall pick of the 2004 NHL Draft back in 2008.
Despite Wheeler’s ceiling as a top-six regular in Boston’s lineup, the 6-foot-5 winger was ultimately packaged in a deal that still managed to benefit the B’s immensely — with Wheeler serving as the headliner on a trade that brought Rich Peverley to Boston.
Even though Wheeler’s development into a star over in Winnipeg might lead to some second thoughts in hindsight, Peverley’s contributions played a major part in Boston’s Stanley Cup victory just months later.
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Chaos at the NHL Draft Lottery:
In a development that could only strike in 2020 — scratch that, it's the NHL, of COURSE this would happen — the 2020 NHL Draft has completely gone up in flames, and chaos now reigns.
Dramatics aside, the league's decision to hold a draft lottery ahead of the actual resumption of games blew up in the NHL's face on Friday night — as the recipient of the first overall pick in the 2020 Draft will not be any of the seven cellar-dwelling teams already out of the playoff picture.
No, instead, it will go to a team yet to be determined, and we won't receive any clarity until the NHL's play-in round — featuring best-of-five series between 16 of the 24 teams in this revamped postseason format — is wrapped up.
Once that round is over, the eight teams bounced from those series — and out of the postseason — will then have equal, 12.5% odds at the No. 1 overall pick, with the NHL holding another draft lottery to select said winner.
While a team that, under normal circumstances, wouldn't make the postseason (such as Chicago or Montreal) could very well still be in the running to snag that first overall pick (with uber-talented Alexis Lafrenière all but a lock for the top selection), things can go off the rails REAL QUICK thanks to this development.
Let's just say, if we were to play devil's advocate, that an already-talented NHL club like the No. 5 seeded Penguins, No. 5 Oilers or No. 8 Maple Leafs get bounced out of this play-in round. Crazier things have happened in hockey, and given the shortened series length and extended time off, anything can happen.
Yes, it'd be extremely disappointing for a team like Pittsburgh or Toronto to be knocked out so early. But all of a sudden, both teams would have a 12.5% chance to scoop up a player in Lafrenière — a franchise-altering break that could either put a team over the top or extended a Cup window for another 5-10 years.
Absolute bedlam.
Not only could this be a huuuuuuge break for a team that otherwise would have no business contending for a No. 1 overall pick, this is also a complete screw-job for the teams that should be in the running for Lafrenière — you know, the seven teams that were so bad they didn't even get a call to the postseason.
Yes, teams like Detroit (18.5% chance at No. 1 - dropped all the way to No. 4 overall) and Senators (25% chance at No. 1 - dropped to No. 3 / No. 5 overall) were done in by poor luck more than anything else, but the NHL shouldn't have opened the door for such a fiasco in the first place by offering a chance for Team TBD to swoop in — even for as small as the odds were that it'd earn the No. 1 pick (just 2.5% chance).
Will it make for fantastic drama? Sure. Does that play-in round have added nuance and intrigue beyond just the regular pursuit of the Cup? Of course.
But all that intrigue is going to fall to the wayside real quick when Sidney Crosby or John Tavares are feeding one-timers to Lafrenière come 2021.
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As for how this draft chaos affects the Bruins? Not that much, really.
Boston is already out of the running for Lafrenière after it dealt its 2020 first-round pick to the Anaheim Ducks in the February deal centered around David Backes and Ondrej Kase. Even if they didn't pull the trigger on said deal and still had a first rounder for the upcoming draft, the B's wouldn't find themselves as one of the eight TBD teams in the running for the first pick, given that they will instead skip the play-in round and battle with the Lightning, Capitals and Flyers in a round-robin tournament to determine seeding.