Bruins officially bring Anton Stralman into the fold

Veteran defenseman Anton Stralman has turned his professional tryout with the Bruins into a one-year deal worth $1 million.

The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun was the first to report the signing.

Mulling over the Bruins’ invitation to camp through the first three days of camp, the 36-year-old Stralman reported to the Bruins on Sept. 24, and almost immediately found a fit on Boston’s defensive rotation.

Frequently paired with fellow Swedish defenseman Hampus Lindholm throughout camp, Stralman made two preseason appearances for the Bruins during the warm-up slate, and finished with two shots on goal and one hit in almost 40 minutes of total time on ice.

Stralman’s fit with the Bruins seemed obvious from the moment he arrived in camp (especially given Bruins general manager Don Sweeney’s belief that you can never have too many defensemen), and was only bolstered by Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery’s near-constant praise of Stralman’s veteran know-how.

The only thing the Bruins needed when it came to signing Stralman, as it turned out, was time.

Though the Bruins remained in contact with Stralman and his camp, the team waited to see what was happening with Mike Reilly’s trip to the waiver wire before putting pen to paper. And when Reilly went unclaimed, the team had to wait for Charlie McAvoy and his $9.5 million cap hit to hit the long-term injured reserve before they had the funds to comfortably sign the right-shooting Stralman.

A veteran of 930 NHL games since 2007, Stralman officially joins a right-side defensive depth chart that includes McAvoy, Brandon Carlo, and Connor Clifton at the NHL level, and with Connor Carrick the likely next man up should the Bruins have to reach into Providence for reinforcements.

Stralman’s also coming to the Bruins after a 2021-22 campaign spent with Arizona, where he totaled eight goals and 23 points in 74 games, and has tons of experience in the Atlantic Division from his recent tenures with both the Lightning (2014-2019) and Panthers (2019-2021).

Oh, and there’s considerable playoff experience to Stralman’s name, with a staggering 113 games of Stanley Cup Playoff experience to his name, including Stanley Cup Finals runs in both 2014 and 2015.