According to Adrian Dater of BSNDenver and Bleacher Report, the Boston Bruins have signed free agent forward Kenny Agostino to a one-year, one-way contract worth $850,000. The 25-year-old Agostino was named the MVP of the AHL last season after leading the league in scoring with an impressive 24 goals and 83 points in 65 games with the Chicago Wolves – 15 points more than any other player, despite the fact that he missed 11 games due to NHL callups with St. Louis.
My sources tell me Boston Bruins have signed AHL MVP Kenny Agostino to 1-year free-agent contract. Worth $850k
— Adrian Dater (@adater) July 1, 2017
At 6 foot 1 and 200 pounds, it’s clear that Agostino has legitimate NHL size. The former Yale University-standout scored an impressive 56 goals and 132 points in 134 games at the collegiate level before joining the Calgary Flames to close out the 2013-14 season, scoring one goal and two points in eight games. Since signing his first NHL contract, Agostino has only played in a total of 17 NHL games split between the Calgary Flames and St. Louis Blues, though he’s really grown as a player in the AHL over the last two seasons, improving every year he plays professional hockey.
In his first season in the AHL, Agostino scored 15 goals and 43 points in 67 games. His second season saw a nice spike in goals and points as he scored 23 goals and 57 points in 65 games – two less than his rookie season. His third season came in 2016-17 when he was named the MVP of the AHL with 24 goals and 83 points in 65 games, as mentioned. With one goal and three points in seven games with the Blues last season, Agostino showed that he can contribute at the NHL level as well, though the sample size is small.
Bruins Need Left Wing Help
When the Bruins season ended after the first-round of the 2017 NHL playoffs, the team made it clear that they were in the market for a top-six left winger and a left-handed blueliner. Fortunately, the Bruins have a plethora of prospects just waiting for their opportunity to make the jump to the NHL level in Danton Heinen, Anders Bjork, Peter Cehlarik and Jake DeBrusk – all able to play left wing. The addition of Agostino provides the Bruins another body who can come to training camp and compete for a roster spot to start the season. With a youth movement alive and well in Boston, getting a 25-year-old with the successful track record that Agostino has without paying any assets is a win by the Bruins management team heading into free agency.
Kenny Agostino (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Teams are undoubtedly going to pay top dollar for players to help fill roles on their clubs next season. In Agostino, the Bruins got a solid young player on an inexpensive contract who could find himself in a top-nine role to start the season in Boston, and at the very least, can help the Providence Bruins – a team that made the AHL Eastern Conference Finals last season but who are losing their head coach Kevin Dean to the big-Bruins club in Boston and who could also be losing any, if not all of the prospects mentioned above throughout the season.
