With a player on a PTO, might the Bruins win big two years in a row?
Before signing with the Vancouver Canucks this summer, Danton Heinen returned to Boston, the city where he began his career, for a professional tryout last year. He quickly established himself as a useful and adaptable member of the team.
Johnson stated to the Hockey News earlier this summer that he would want to sign with a team that will probably make the playoffs.
“I would like to return to the postseason and play some important hockey…That is the fundamental point. I’ve always adored there,” he remarked. It’s been difficult for me the last few years doing what we’re doing because I’ve always just wanted to be a part of that.
The Boston Bruins are hoping Tyler Johnson can have a comparable effect. On Saturday, Don Sweeney said that the 34-year-old forward, who can play center or wing, had joined the team.
The 5-foot-8, 185-pound right-shot forward Johnson played 67 games for the Blackhawks last season, tallying 17 goals and 14 assists. Before spending the final three seasons with Chicago, the Spokane, Washington native was a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning (2020 and 2021).
Last week, SportsNet Canada stated that he was the best unsigned free agent still available.
The two-time Cup champion offers character, experience, and the ability to play center or wing, but his next team will have to take a pay cut.
He would rather play third line center for a playoff club than for another rebuilding squad, as can be seen.
Over his 12-year career, which includes three with the Blackhawks and nine with the Lightning, he has played in 431 regular season games and has 193 goals and 238 assists. In 30 career games against the Bruins, he has three goals and nine assists. In 116 postseason contests, he has 33 assists and 32 goals.
Early in his career, he was nominated three times for the Selke Award and scored five short goals in his debut season.
He’ll probably fight for playing time on the penalty kill as well as the third and fourth lines.
It’s anticipated that PTO activity will increase over the next few days as players try to find a job, with training camps less than three weeks away. The Boston Bruins have announced that they have signed experienced forward Tyler Johnson to a test contract, entering the tryout market.
The 34-year-old was acquired from Tampa Bay in a salary cap clearing trade, and he has played for Chicago for the past three seasons. During his tenure with the Blackhawks, Johnson struggled to maintain his health, which undoubtedly hindered his chances of being traded. However, he scored 32 points in 56 games during the 2022–2023 season, and then finished the previous season with 17 goals and 14 assists in 67 games while averaging 15:32 a game.
Prior to that, Johnson played with Tampa Bay for nine seasons, the most of which he spent as a vital backup scorer. In 738 games played between the Lightning and Blackhawks during his 12-year career, he has 193 goals and 238 assists. That record combined with a respectable offensive performance in Chicago’s last two seasons while healthy makes it somewhat unexpected that he was unable to sign a guaranteed contract for the next campaign.
We examined Johnson’s free agency in more detail earlier this month and identified the Bruins as a potential option. Despite his current preference for playing on the wing over the middle, Johnson is still a capable center who might provide some insurance for Matthew Poitras, who missed 38 games last season due to shoulder issues. Johnson might provide some inexpensive insurance if they want Poitras to start the season slowly on the wing, or even at AHL Providence.
According to PuckPedia, the Bruins currently have $8.64 million in cap space. The majority of that money, though, will go toward RFA goalkeeper Jeremy Swayman; they must sign him before they can determine how much money they can realistically spend on a contract on Johnson or any other experienced free agent they may be interested in. Johnson will at least get an opportunity to play in the preseason and present himself as a viable candidate for a deal with Boston or another team.
