The Boston Bruins and Don Sweeney were busy on day one of NHL free agency. They signed nine players on July 1st, some will skate in Boston next season while others will be relegated through the farm.
The three biggest signings of the day were winger Tanner Jeannot, young defenseman Jordan Harris, and former Bruin Sean Kuraly. The team also brought in three more forwards, Michael Eyssimont, Alex Steeves, and Matej Bluemel. Another young defenseman by the name of Jonathan Aspirot also received a contract. Goaltender Luke Cavallin got an AHL contract. And finally, winger Riley Tufte was resigned.
It was a busy day for the Bruins general manager Don Sweeney who told reporters that he is looking to bring a new identity to Boston.
“We went to work on finding, as I referenced last week, that we were going to put together a competitive team with bringing some juice back (to Boston),” Sweeney told reporters on Tuesday. “That applies to elevating our current guys and them feeling reinvigorated coming off of some injuries and a very down year.”
Grading The Kuraly, Jeannot, and Harris Signings
Let’s start with hometown favorite Sean Kuraly. Kuraly signed a two year deal worth $1.85 million a year. He will be a plug and play fourth liner who should do nothing but solidify the bottom six of this depth chart. Sweeney is looking to create an identity and Kuraly is a high character, high motor signing. Grade: B
“Kuraly, 32, played the first five seasons of his NHL career with the Bruins,” wrote Matt Dolloff of The Sports Hub. “A fast, dependable fourth-line energy forward, Kuraly gained a reputation for scoring a surprising amount of big goals in the playoffs. Kuraly most notably scored four goals and 10 points in 20 playoff games for the B’s in 2019, and four of his nine career postseason goals are game-winners.
Tanner Jeannot is the biggest acquisition of the day. Jeannot signed a five-year, $17 million deal that establishes him as a mainstay for the Bruins rebuild. He brings a physical presence as a third line winger. Sweeney is hoping he will return to early career shape, but The Athletic’s Sean Gentille is far from impressed. Grade: C-
“Jeannot, of course, played 75 games for the Lightning and, without a shooting percentage of 19.4 to float his game, brought very little to the mix other than hits — too many of which came while he was chasing the puck,” Gentille writes. “Now, though, he’s going to be a $3.4 million player for five seasons. As a short-term bet, that AAV would’ve been unwise. As a long-term one, hoo boy. He has a bit of defensive value and, yes, loves to punish his opponents — but that’s only enough to stop this from being an ‘F.’”
Finally, the player I’m most excited about, Jordan Harris. Harris is a hometown boy who grew up in Haverhill, Massachusetts. He did his four years at Northeastern in the city, and was eventually drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2018. Now, at just 24-years-old, the blue liner returns home on a one-year prove it deal worth less than a million. He will get a chance to round out the bottom defensive pairing. Grade B-
Don Sweeney Provides Not So Promising Update On State Of Roster
It is still early in the offseason and there is plenty of time to shake things up a bit, but if this is the brunt of the 2026 roster, it could be another rough year. GM Don Sweeney told reporters today that the current roster is good enough to accomplish all things asked of them.
“I do believe when you put the whole group together, what they’re capable of doing, we’ll score enough if we play the right way, and we’ll defend a hell a lot better, and I expect our goaltending to be significantly better,” Sweeney said.
“At times last year, even when we had our (whole) group, we were an easy out,” Sweeney continued. “I just can’t stand for that. So we are going to reestablish.”
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