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
Bruce Cassidy
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?”
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
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
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
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
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.
(Photo by Brian Babineau/NHLI via Getty Images)
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
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
Since departing Boston via free agency, the “Granite Man” has only tallied 12 points over 100 games with both the Canucks and Kings.
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
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.
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
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.
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Chaos at the NHL Draft Lottery:
Alexis Lafrenière
Sidney Crosby
John Tavares
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David Backes
Ondrej Kase