Tanner Jeannot signed a five-year, $17 million contract with the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. It has an average annual value of $3.4 million.
“It’s such a historic organization," Jeannot said. "It has such a great history and now to get to be a part of that, it’s obviously a really special thing. But in coming to this group and this team, it’s been such a good team for so long and last year there were a few pretty key injuries and some other things going on. Obviously didn’t go the way they were hoping but the group on this team is still so talented, so good and bringing in some guys yesterday, we’re going to be a really hard team to play against and that’s I feel the type of team that if you can do it consistently for the entire year and into the playoffs, it’s a really hard team to beat and just wears other teams down.
"We’re going to be a team that teams aren’t going to be wanting to go against and when they are going to see the Boston Bruins coming into town, they know it’s going to be a fight and that’s how it always has been. That’s been the Bruins culture. I feel like me as a player, I’ve always tried to embody that type of culture. That’s what really excites me about coming there. I want to be a big part of that, a big part of that culture, a big part of this team’s success.”
The 28-year-old forward had 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 67 regular-season games for the Los Angeles Kings last season but did not play after March 25 because of a lower-body injury.
“Obviously, he popped a few years ago. He’s had some injuries since then that have probably derailed a little bit in that regard. I don’t know if he’s getting back to scoring 27 goals, I sure hope so. Deep down, he believes he’ll bring a lot more energy to our group that we need, the physicality is there," Bruins general manager Don Sweeney said.
Signed by the Nashville Predators as an undrafted free agent on April 2, 2018, Jeannot has 93 points (49 goals, 44 assists) in 294 regular-season games for the Predators, Tampa Bay Lightning and Kings, and has three assists in 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“I think I mapped out the fact that we want the infusion right now, and playing forward, I think it’s hard to find. I really do. And I think that the younger skill players that we plan to incorporate moving forward are going to need a little breathing room, and I think Tanner’s 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. As I’ve referenced before, you’ve got David (Pastrnak) and Charlie (McAvoy) particularly, they’re stepping into leadership situations ... but there’s a lot that goes into that upper echelon level of leadership and what’s required of you along with being an elite player in the National Hockey League.”
