After a long summer anxiously waiting for a Jeremy Swayman contract signing, the Boston Bruins finally locked up their franchise goaltender to an eight-year, $66 million deal, keeping their starting goalie as their number one for the long-term future. Now that the stress levels have cooled, the Bruins can look to finalize their roster for the 2024-25 season which begins Oct. 8 against the Florida Panthers. While general manager Don Sweeney’s main signing is over and done with, there is one more that may be announced before opening puck drop, forward Tyler Johnson.
Bruins Have Enough Cap Room Following Waiver Moves
When the Swayman contract was first announced, the Bruins had numerous players still counting against the salary cap that were likely being sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL), meaning the team only had just under $400,000 in cap space according to PuckPedia. However, as teams narrow down their rosters before the season begins, the Bruins placed five players on waivers:
- F Jeff Viel
- F Patrick Brown
- D Billy Sweezey
- G Brandon Bussi
- G Jiri Patera
With these moves, the Bruins now have 14 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders on the main NHL roster, excluding Tyler Johnson. Riley Tufte and Cole Koepke are listed as the extra forwards as of now with Parker Wotherspoon as the spare defender. Per PuckPedia, these moves have boosted Boston’s cap space to somewhere in the neighborhood of $1.9 million, plenty of room for an additional skill signing and Johnson fulfills that need.
Tyler Johnson Could Be a Valuable Depth Asset
The season hasn’t even started yet and the forward lines seem just about locked in for the Bruins this season. A first line of Pavel Zacha, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak will be the go-to scoring line. Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle have the second line confirmed and will most likely have Morgan Geekie or Matthew Poitras beside them on the right side. In the bottom six, Trent Frederic, Poitras or Geekie, and Justin Brazeau will look to have a strong season while the fourth line will be some combination of John Beecher, Max Jones, Mark Kastelic, Cole Koepke, Riley Tufte and maybe Johnson.
As it sits, the bottom six for the Bruins is a lot of heavy, power-forward type players, especially on the fourth line. While Beecher and Jones can provide some offense, neither of them have the kind of offensive skill that Johnson has. An undrafted player, he was signed to a three-year entry-level contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning back in 2011, shortly after a dominant 2010-11 season with the Spokane Chiefs in the Western Hockey League (WHL) where he scored 53 goals and 115 points in 71 games.
In Tampa Bay, Johnson scored 20 or more goals in four of his nine seasons, highlighted by his career-best season that saw him pot 29 goals and 43 assists for 72 points in 77 games during the 2014-15 season. His tenure with the Lightning came to an end in July 2021 as he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks. In the three seasons with Chicago, the Spokane, Washington native posted 32-38-70 totals in just under 150 games played. Johnson’s contract expired at the end of the 2023-24 season and has since been an unrestricted free agent (UFA).
Related: Bruins Signing Tyler Johnson to a PTO Is a Good Addition
As Sweeney often does, the Bruins signed Johnson to a professional tryout (PTO), used to create some internal competition for roster spots while seeing how much a veteran player has left in the tank. Last season, forward Danton Heinen was signed to a PTO deal and eventually a full NHL contract where he became an important member of the team into their playoff run.
Preseason Success & High Praises
Signing the PTO before training camp started ensured Johnson would be able to get some playing time in the preseason, and there is a legitimate argument for his play to be deemed the most impressive of the players vying for a spot on the team. In three preseason games, Johnson was tied for the team lead in points with two, finished seventh amongst Bruins forwards in shots for percentage and was on the ice for five of Boston’s 15 goals in the preseason – the most of any other Bruin.
Did he completely dominate and take over games? Not quite, but he did show chemistry with Zacha and Brazeau and arguably did more than the likes of Lysell and Merkulov who were the other skill forwards contending for the spot. They have both been sent down to Providence.
Even at 34, Johnson still has a solid shot release both in a powerplay setting, as seen above on his only goal of the preseason, and at other points, including an on-the-rush chance that landed a shot on goal off a cross-ice feed from Brazeau in the game against the Los Angeles Kings. While he isn’t blazing fast skating, he’s faster than some of the options in the bottom-six and when he needs to put on the jets for the forecheck, he’s able to. Another important asset to Johnson with his veteran experience is his hockey IQ. In the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 1, he made a slick one-touch feed on the breakout off an Andrew Peeke pass to give it to an in-stride Brazeau. Boston has struggled at times on the breakout in the past, Johnson can help with that.
A two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Lightning, Johnson would bring additional playoff experience to an already experienced group. In 116 playoff games from 2013 to 2021, he scored 32 goals and 33 assists for 65 points and was pivotal to Tampa’s 2015 Stanley Cup Final run where he scored 23 points in 26 games, leading the Lightning in playoff scoring. While it won’t be expected that he perform to any level close to that, just having that knowledge in the locker room can be a valuable asset. Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery recognizes that as well, saying, “He won a cup in Tampa playing in a 4th line role, he won a Cup in Tampa playing in a top-six role.”
Bruins legend Patrice Bergeron took over Boston’s X feed on Oct. 3 during the Kings game in Quebec City, Canada and praised the Bruins’ PTO signing, “The boys are liking the seam passes right now. Nice chance for Tyler Johnson. Was always great competing against him, smart player.”
Low Risk, High Reward
There is little to no risk in signing Johnson to a league-minimum contract ($775,000). He presents skill, experience and leadership value that can help out Boston’s offensive depth and won’t impact the budget in a major way. He can fill in for an injury, play on the up-in-the-air second-line right winger position, add some speed on the fourth line or even get some power play time. He is the definition of a cheap, depth signing and he should be the next player to sign on the dotted line for the Bruins.
