The Bruins got a bit tougher on the bottom six when they signed Tanner Jeannot to a five-year deal on the first day of free agency.

While some question whether the term was too much for a bottom six forward who has back-to-back seven-goal seasons, SportsNet’s Elliotte Friedman described the competition for Jeannot as “fierce” on the latest episode of his “32 Thoughts” podcast.

Advertisement

“There’s not a lot of guys like him,” Friedman said.

The NHL insider further elaborated why the Bruins wanted to add the 6-foot-2, 220-pound physical forward to their team when they have Mark Kastelic who also brings some added snarl to the bottom six.

“Last year, I think they felt at times that they wanted (Nikita) Zadorov to just play hockey,” Friedman said. “I think they felt last time Zadorov was fighting too much or going after guys too much. They still got the ‘Big Bad Bruins’ thought a little bit. I think they brought Jeannot in to be a little bigger, a little meaner, and so Zadorov didn’t have to do some of this stuff as much. So that’s why they did it.”

Zadorov never shied away from dropping the gloves, but it often led to the defenseman taking penalties and putting the Bruins on the penalty kill. He led the team with 145 penalty minutes — which was a career-high for Zadorov.

Advertisement

During the 2021-22 season, Jeannot scored 24 goals and added 17 assists for the Nashville Predators. He also had 318 hits and 130 penalty minutes. Since then, he hasn’t been able to replicate that kind of success, but Bruins general manager Don Sweeney explained why he was confident giving the 28-year-old a five-year deal.

“We want the infusion right now and then playing forward, I think it’s hard to find. I really do. I think the younger skilled players that we plan to incorporate moving forward are going to need a little breathing room. I think Tanner is going to bring a lot of that,” Sweeney said. “I think the room itself, his leadership skills, how he prepares to play the game, I think that all just boils over into what we need to continue to improve upon. And also support.

“Deep down we think he’ll bring a whole lot more energy to our group, that we need. The physicality is there. We run through a tough division,” he later added. “I just think everybody gets a little taller (with Jeannot in the lineup). I think if we fast forward what we’ve tried to do from a draft perspective, an eye towards that as well and introducing those young players — that we hopefully are infusing skill — I do believe that the complement Tanner brings will help in that regard.”

More Bruins content

Advertisement

Read the original article on MassLive.