Bruins bring on board two-time Stanley Cup champion to turn things around

The move is official. The Boston Bruins are brining help up front by signing Stanley Cup champion Tyler Johnson after weeks of having him in the fold. During training camp, Johnson got a professional tryout deal in Boston and had a decent time with the team. He was however left on the sideline with the Bruins struggling to make the numbers work under the cap. Finally on Monday, the Bruins signed Johnson to one-year, $775,000 contract.

Johnson is 34 years old and was never drafted in the NHL. He came into the league when he was originally signed by Tampa Bay as a free agent in 2011.

Last season, he took part in 67 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, recording 17 goals and 14 assists for 31 points. In total, he has skated in 738 career NHL games with Chicago and Tampa Bay, totalling 193 goals and 238 assists for 431 points with a plus-20 rating. He is coming off a seven-year, $35 million deal he signed with the Lightning in the summer of 2017.

He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner (2020, 2021 with the Lightning) and has also played 116 career Stanley Cup playoff games, tallying 32 goals and 33 assists for 65 points.

The move comes after an unexpected bad start to the 2024-25 season that even saw star forward David Pastrnak getting benched by head coach Jim Montgomery.

With this Johnson signing, the Bruins will now have just over one million dollars in salary cap space.