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
and
Part II in our last notebook
, here’s our look at the top 10 Bruins free-agent signings over the past 15 years:
10 -
Glen Metropolit, Center
Signed 1-year contract on October 3, 2007 (terms not disclosed)
82 GP - 11 goals, 22 assists, 36 PIM - 16:26 ATOI
Talk about a steal.
9 - Shawn Thornton, Winger
Signed 3-year, $1.55-million contract on July 1, 2007
480 GP - 34 goals, 42 assists, 748 PIM - 9:05 ATOI
8 -
Michael Ryder, Winger
Signed 3-year, $12-million contract on July 1, 2008
235 GP - 63 goals, 64 assists - 14:54 ATOI
Enter Michael Ryder, who received a three-year contract from Boston after lighting the lamp 30 times in two of his previous four seasons with the Canadiens. Ryder made good on the signing in his first season with the B’s — scoring 27 goals and ranking fourth on the club with 53 points on a Bruins club that surged to first place in the Eastern Conference.
Ryder’s offensive production the following two seasons were a bit more understated (tallying 18 goals in each campaign), but the Newfoundland product was invaluable for the B’s during their run to a Stanley Cup title.
Despite serving on the third line, Ryder was an offensive force during the 2011 postseason, tying Nathan Horton for fourth on the club in playoff scoring with 17 points over 25 games.
Along with a pair of game-winning tallies against Montreal (Game 4 - overtime) and Tampa Bay (Game 2), Ryder made his mark down the other end of the ice — robbing
Tomas Plekanec
of a sure goal during the Montreal series by blocking the biscuit with his glove in the crease.
He might not have been a steal when compared to some of the other bargain buys the Bruins secured over the last 15 years, but the money was well worth it for Ryder, given the end result.
7 -
Jarome Iginla, Winger
Signed 1-year, $6 million contract on July 5, 2013
78 GP - 30 goals, 31 assists - 18:13 ATOI
The Hall-of-Fame winger was for all intents and purposes a Bruin just ahead of the 2013 NHL Trade Deadline, with
Peter Chiarelli
agreeing to send a first-round pick,
Alexander Khokhlachev
and
Matt Bartkowski
to the Flames in exchange for the power forward.
Given that Iginla’s one-year deal only cost $1.8 million against the cap, Boston was thrilled with the production that he generated on a line with
David Krejci
and
Milan Lucic
— accounting for some of the scoring punch lost when the B’s dealt
Tyler Seguin
just a few days earlier.
Even though Iginla’s cap hit was just $1.8 million that season, he was also due $4.2 million in additional bonuses – all of which was deferred to the following season. Not only was Boston not able to retain Iginla because of this additional cap hit, but it also prompted the franchise to subtract from its lineup in order to avoid cap hell — headlined by an October 2014 deal in which
Johnny Boychuck
was traded to the Islanders.
While those added bonuses ended up blowing up in both the Bruins and especially Chiarelli's
face (he was fired in April 2015), Iginla still managed to leave quite the impact in his one season in Boston.
6 -
Riley Nash, Center
Signed 2-year, $1.8-million contract on July 1, 2016
157 GP - 22 goals, 36 assists - 14:35 ATOI
Brought aboard as a depth pickup and fourth-line contributor, expectations weren’t all that high for Nash, given that the book was apparently out on what the bottom-six skater could contribute to a club.
But during his two seasons in Boston, Nash excelled far beyond the price tag that came with his two-year, $1.8 million contract. After a strong first season in which he emerged as a defensive stalwart on Boston’s bottom six, Nash became arguably one of the top value pick-ups in hockey during the 2017-18 season.
Nash ran with a promotion as Boston’s third-line center with
David Backes
and
Danton Heinen
, with the trio on the ice for 15 5v5 goals scored and holding a 56.40% shot share during their 334:37 of 5v5 TOI together.
But Nash also lifted the B’s when
Patrice Bergeron
was sidelined due to a fractured foot, slotting in as Boston’s top-line center next to
Brad Marchand
and
David Pastrnak
and racking up 13 points in 13 games.
5 - Jaroslav Halak, Goaltender
Signed 2-year, $5.5-million contract on July 1, 2018
71 GP - 40-17-10, .921 save percentage, 2.36 GAA, 8 shutouts
One of the top moves by Don Sweeney in recent years, the Bruins — spurred by the success found when limiting Tuukka Rask’s workload during a grueling regular season — doubled down on a top backup goalie in the summer of 2018, moving on from
Anton Khudobin
and signing
Jaroslav Halak
to a two-year, $5.5 million contract.
By the time the postseason began, Halak’s impressive play in net allowed Boston to keep Rask fresh for the playoff run — with the latter’s 45 games played ranking as his fewest since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season (36 games played).
With Halak’s steady play allowing Rask to pace himself — without sacrificing points when turning to their backup in net — the Bruins benefited immensely during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Before Game 7 against the Blues, Rask seemed to have a Conn Smythe Trophy all but locked up — with the netminder posting a .934 save percentage and two shutouts over 24 playoff outings.
The 2019-20 campaign has been more of the same for Halak (18-6-6, .919 save percentage), with Rask once again turning in a standout season (41 GP, 26-8-6, .929 save percentage) and all but certainly earning a spot as a Vezina Trophy finalist.
With Halak back on board for the 2020-21 campaign thanks to a new one-year contract, expect Boston to continue to reap the rewards that come with rolling out arguably the top backup goalie in the league.
4 - Marc Savard, Center
Signed 4-year, $20 million contract on July 1, 2006
304 GP - 74 goals, 231 assists - 19:31 ATOI
With a rebuilding Bruins club in need of another star center after trading
Joe Thornton
back in November, Savard stepped in and immediately paid dividends — tallying 96 points in 82 games during his debut season in 2006-07.
However, Savard’s tenure in Boston was ultimately cut short — with a dirty hit from
Matt Cooke
handing the B’s pivot a major concussion that would eventually spell the end of his standout career.
3 - Torey Krug, Defenseman
Signed 3-year, $5.112-million contract on March 25, 2012 ($2.75 million cap hit)
523 GP - 67 goals, 270 assists - 20:19 ATOI
523 GP - 67 goals, 270 assists - 20:19 ATOI
In 523 career games with the Bruins, Krug has racked up 337 points — becoming the franchise’s all-time leading scorer for an American-born player back in March 2019. Since the start of the 2015-16 season, only five other NHL defensemen have accrued as many points as Krug (
Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Victor Hedman, Roman Josi, John Carlson).
And while Krug has dragged along a reputation as a D-zone liability due to his smaller stature, the veteran was arguably Boston’s most impactful defenseman down both ends of the ice during Boston’s run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, tying for first among all NHLers in playoff assists (16) while forming a stout D pairing next to
Brandon Carlo.
2 - Tim Thomas, Goaltender
Signed 1-year, $450,000 contract on September 14, 2005
374 GP - 193-120-45, .922 save percentage, 31 shutouts
What a bizarre odyssey this career was in Boston.
Even though Thomas re-upped with Jokerit for the 2005-06 season, he included an out clause that he utilized to sign a one-year, $450,000 contract to return to the Bruins — serving as insurance behind
Andrew Raycroft
and
Hannu Toivonen.
Already 31 years old, little was expected of Thomas at that stage in his career.
1 - Zdeno Chara, Defenseman
Signed 5-year, $37.5-million contract on July 1, 2006
1,023 GP - 148 goals, 333 assists, 1,055 PIM - 24:33 ATOI
Appointed team captain before he even logged one minute of official ice time with his new club, Chara stepped into the leadership vacuum left open following Thornton’s trade the following winter — gelling with a younger crop of skaters like
Patrice Bergeron
and instilling an accountable, inclusive environment that have become hallmarks of this franchise more than a decade later.
On the ice, Chara made good on his hefty payday. In his first eight seasons with Boston, Chara finished in the top-five voting for the Norris Trophy six times — taking home the hardware during the 2008-09 season.
______________________
New details emerge in NHL Return To Play plan, new CBA extension:
New Starting Dates:
Opt-out clauses:
Bruce Cassidy
Playoff pool increases:
CBA extension:
A flat cap:
Return to the Olympics:
Financial concessions:
John Tavares,