The Boston Bruins are in a strange place. They are without a captain after trading Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. They are also without the services of Trent Frederic, who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers and signed an eight-year extension with his new team this summer. The Bruins have made a few moves to balance the scales.
Tanner Jeannot was named one of the worst contracts in the NHL today. However, Sean Kuraly and Michael Eyssimont were also signed by the team on July 1st.
Kuraly is a returning face to the organization, having played for the Bruins from the 2016-17 season up until the 2020-21 season. He was initially drafted 133rd overall in 2011 by the San Jose Sharks. The 32-year-old, 6-foot-2, 215 lb forward is coming off a 17-point, 162-hit season with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
Eyssimont was the 142nd overall selection of the Los Angeles Kings in the 2016 draft. The 28-year-old is a 6-foot, 191 lb physical winger. He split the 2024-25 season between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Seattle Kraken. In 77 games, he recorded 16 points and 110 hits.
Jeannot is an undrafted 28-year-old winger. He is a 6-foot-2, 220 lb player who is coming off a season where he threw 211 hits in 67 games. The 28-year-old scored 13 points while averaging 11 minutes a game for the Kings.
Tanner Jeannot of the Bruins Named #10th Worst Contract
Dom Luszcyszyn of The Athletic wrote about the 10 worst contracts in the NHL right now. Like it or not, the Bruins have one of their own on the list.
“Four years ago, Tanner Jeannot had 24 goals and 41 points in 81 games, a year removed from lighting up the AHL with 10 goals and 21 points in 13 games,” Luszcyszyn wrote. “Jeannot looked like someone who was going to be a problem for years to come as a menacing power forward with a scoring touch.”
“Since that magical season, Jeannot has 20 goals and 45 points over 198 games, an eight-goal and 19-point pace,” Luszcyszyn continues. “Jeannot is a replacement-level player making third-line money. Maybe he finally regains the spark that made his 2021-22 season so alluring, but the chances of that happening feel seriously slim.”
Here is the entire list:
- Jonathan Huberdeau
- Ivan Provorov
- Chandler Stephenson
- Brady Skjei
- Nicolas Hague
- Sean Couturier
- Ryan Pulock
- Sam Bennett
- Cody Ceci
- Tanner Jeannot
The Bruins signed Jeannot to a five-year $3.4-million contract.
Bruins’ Pay the Price for a Special Player
The Bruins wanted Jeannot, and they paid the price to get him.
“With Jeannot, yes, it’s a five-year deal, but the number isn’t going to hurt you,” Elliotte Friedman reasoned on a recent 32 Thoughts Podcast episode. “I heard there were 10 teams after this guy…there’s not a lot of guys around like Jeannot anymore.”
“They want Zadorov to just play hockey,” Friedman continued. “I think they felt Zadorov was fighting too much or going after guys too much.”
Jeannot gives the team some snarl, as do the additions of Eyssimont and Kuraly. The other two contracts are more favorable ($1.45 million & $1.85 million, respectively), but all three illustrate the point that they identified a need and paid the price to fill it.
The Bruins have $2.08 million in salary cap space.
