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Bruins sign veteran F Tyler Johnson to 1-year, $775,000 contract
Tyler Johnson had to wait weeks for the Bruins to free up the cap space before putting pen to paper on a deal.
The wait is finally over for Tyler Johnson.
After spending over a month with the Bruins as both a professional tryout (PTO) candidate and a patient skater mired in cap-space purgatory, Johnson signed a one-year, $775,000 NHL contract with Boston on Monday evening.
The 34-year-old forward, who has skated with the Bruins throughout the regular season despite his uncertain contract status, took part in Monday’s practice at Warrior Ice Arena and could be in play to make his debut during Tuesday’s road game against the Maple Leafs.
The 5-foot-8 forward and two-time Stanley Cup champion scored 17 goals and posted 31 total points over 67 games with the Blackhawks during the 2023-24 season.
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The Spokane, Washington, native may be several years removed from his prime years with the Lightning (29 goals, 72 points in 2014-15), but Johnson could still inject some scoring punch into a Bruins roster ranked 27th in the league in scoring (2.62 goals scored per game).
A right-shot center who can also slot over to wing, Johnson’s versatility should give Jim Montgomery and his staff options as the team searches for additional avenues to generate offense.
He skated in place of Charlie Coyle as Boston’s second-line center on Monday, although Coyle did not participate in practice due to what Montgomery tabbed as “maintenance.”
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Johnson’s path toward putting pen to paper with the Bruins follows a similar trajectory as Danton Heinen, who quickly became a bargain-bin signing for Boston in 2023-24.
Arriving in Boston on a PTO contract last fall, Heinen impressed during preseason action as a versatile, two-way forward.
But with Boston limited in terms of cap space, Heinen had to wait weeks before signing with the Bruins, eventually inking a one-year, $775,000 deal with the team on Oct. 30, 2023. He went on to score 17 goals and 36 points over 74 games with the Bruins last year.
Boston found itself in another fiscal headache this fall after signing Jeremy Swayman to his $66 million contract just before regular-season play commenced.
As Johnson bided his time and kept his legs fresh in Brighton, the Bruins finally freed up the necessary capital when the team placed forward Riley Tufte on waivers on Oct. 25. After Tufte cleared waivers and was subsequently assigned to Providence, the Bruins gained the $775,000 needed to eventually bring in Johnson, who popped during preseason action.
“Tyler Johnson’s strength as a player is his brain,” Montgomery said of Johnson’s strengths on the ice late last month. “His brain’s allowed him his entire career to be in the right spot at the right time, offensively and defensively.”
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