When looking back at the 2025-26 Bruins\u2019 surprising run to the playoffs, many factors were at play.<\/p>\n
There was, of course, the performance of Jeremy Swayman that earned the goalie a Vezina Trophy nomination from the NHL\u2019s general managers. There was David Pastrnak\u2019s fourth straight 100-point season, Morgan Geekie\u2019s second straight 30-goal season and arguably Charlie McAvoy\u2019s best career year.<\/p>\n
But one thing that should not be underrated is the emergence of a fourth line that brought some more belligerence back to the Bruin experience, a quality that went missing as they bottomed out two years ago.<\/p>\n
The two constants of the unit were bruising wings Tanner Jeannot and Mark Kastelic. Fraser Minten centered them first and then Sean Kuraly took over as Minten ascended in the lineup.<\/p>\n
It was Jeannot\u2019s first season with the B\u2019s after signing an eyebrow-raising five-year deal worth $3.4 million a season. With the exception of his 24-goal, 41-point season with the Nashville Predators in 2021-22, Jeannot has never been a huge point producer and that held true last season when he posted a 6-16-22 line, which was his second-best point total of his career.<\/p>\n
But there were not a lot of complaints from Bruin fans. One of Jeannot\u2019s traits is that he\u2019s one of the fiercest fighters in the NHL and a couple of his well-timed bouts served their intended purpose throughout the season.<\/p>\n
The B\u2019s fourth line was an issue for a lot of opponents, for a few reasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cMark and I are pretty similar players. We like to get in there and forecheck. But also we\u2019re defensively minded as well. But we like to play that physical game that not a lot of teams want to play against,\u201d said Jeannot, who was at the annual Back-to-School event at the Garden on Wednesday. \u201cWe were with Sean a lot last year and he was the same way so I thought we jelled pretty good. And the more time you get to play with people, the more chemistry you build up and the more trust you have with each other and where you\u2019re going to be on the ice. It was something we could do to just help the team. We tried to bring an identity to the team in being hard to play and that was what we felt our role was. Obviously it didn\u2019t turn out the way we wanted at the of the year, losing in the first round. It\u2019s something that we can continue to build on and just get better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 29-year-old Jeannot wants to continue to grow his game in 2026-27.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to be a guy that\u2019s steady and trustworthy in every zone of the ice,\u201d said Jeannot. \u201cI want to have a really good 200-foot game. I want to hold onto pucks a bit more. I\u2019m a big body and I think that I can generate a little more puck possession time for our team. And, obviously, just doing the same things in being a physical presence on the ice and going hard to the net. I want to continue to do that, be a great teammate, do everything I can, control pucks down low, be a part of the forecheck and play a 200-foot game that\u2019s trustworthy everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lines don\u2019t always stay together from year to year, though it would seem natural for Jeannot and Kastelic to stay together. Who their center will be remains to be seen. While there other candidates to play center (unsigned RFA Matt Poitras comes to mind), Kuraly is certainly a possibility again. While that trio won\u2019t become Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak 2.0, Jeannot does believe the group can squeeze out a little more production.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s potential for offense, for sure,\u201d said Jeannot. \u201cAll three of us can score. All three of us can make plays. There\u2019s definitely potential for it. Is it necessarily our number one mindset? I don\u2019t think so. We want to be out there being an identity and playing the right way and showing by example how hard the Bruins want to play. I think if we\u2019re doing that, we have enough skill and smarts out there that we can generate some offense. That will come but our focus is to be an identity, be hard to play against and create momentum and help our team win any way we can, whether it\u2019s trying to create as much offense as we can, being as physical as we can or being good defensively. All three of us were penalty killers, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Jeannot, being part of the kill was key. He\u2019d done it earlier in his career but had not in the several seasons prior to coming to Boston. It\u2019s a good way for a fourth line player to bump up his ice time, get into the game and make an impact he might not be able to make on his regular shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s huge,\u201d said Jeannot. \u201cIt gives you something to take pride in. It gets you out there against other team\u2019s top players, which can be scary but for me it\u2019s my opportunity to make my impact. I don\u2019t necessarily always get to play against the top players because our top line is playing against their top line. That\u2019s an opportunity for me to get into other team\u2019s top players\u2019 heads and show them that I\u2019m going to be on the ice against them sometimes. That can be a mental aspect of the game, too. But you\u2019re in the game, you\u2019re engaged and you\u2019re taking pride in killing off a penalty for your team. It\u2019s something I take a lot of pride in.\u201d<\/p>\n
What comes next for Jeannot is to be determined. But in his first season as a Bruin, he showed he was worth the investment.<\/p>\n
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