The Bruins made sure that they took care of their big-fish signings early Monday, with center Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov signed to big-money contracts just after 12 p.m. on July 1.
Don Sweeney and the Bruins even continued to tinker their fourth line’s complexion with the addition of 2016 first-round pick and ex-Duck forward Max Jones, and decided to take a gamble on potent AHL scorer and potential breakout candidate Cole Koepke later in the day.
But that was far from it for the Bruins, who decided to restock the Providence-to-Boston pool with four additional players signed to two-way contracts to round out Boston’s organizational depth.
And a continued emphasis on size remained the focus with the first signing among that group, as the B’s brought the 6-foot-6, 230-pound Riley Tufte into the fold on a one-year contract worth $775,000.
Originally a first-round pick of the Stars back in 2016 (No. 25 overall), Tufte’s move to Boston comes after a 2023-24 season that included one goal and an assist, along with seven shots and eight hits, in five games for the Avalanche.
Down on the Avs’ farm, though, Tufte was a gamebreaker, as he tallied 23 goals and 45 points in 67 games for AHL Colorado. The 26-year-old was also named to the AHL All-Star Classic, and won the hardest shot competition during the festivities, with a contest-winning shot that clocked in at 100.9 miles per hour.
Nov 22, 2023; Denver, Colorado, USA; Colorado Avalanche forward Riley Tufte (10) celebrates his goal in the third period against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena. (Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports)
Tufte, who won back-to-back NCAA National Championships as a member of the Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs in 2018 and 2019, has made 18 appearances between Dallas and Colorado in his NHL career.
Sep 25, 2023; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Winnipeg Jets forward Jeffrey Viel (28) waits for the face-off against the Edmonton Oilers during the second period at Canada Life Centre. (Terrence Lee/USA TODAY Sports)
Elsewhere up front, the Bruins inked forward Jeffrey Viel to a two-year contract worth $775,000 at the NHL level. What’s notable with Viel’s contract is that the first year of the contract will be a two-way deal, while the second converts to a one-way contract, meaning Viel will make the same salary in the NHL and the AHL.
A 6-foot-2 left shot, Viel spent the entire 2023-24 campaign in the AHL, where he tallied 17 goals and 40 points, and racked up 142 minutes in penalties, 69 games for Manitoba.
Overall, the Quebec-born Viel has made 49 NHL appearances, all of which came during a three-season run with San Jose from 2021 through 2023. Viel’s longest NHL run came with a 34-game 2021-22 season that featured three goals and five points, along with 84 hits and 114 minutes in penalties.
Viel even dropped the gloves with Zdeno Chara.
Undoubtedly some tough guy insurance for the B’s in the minor-league ranks, the 27-year-old comes to the Bruins with 62 goals and 133 points in 281 AHL games between AHL San Jose and AHL Manitoba.
Jan 16, 2024; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Calgary Flames defenseman Jordan Oesterle (82) looks on during the first period in a game against the Arizona Coyotes at Scotiabank Saddledome. (Brett Holmes/USA TODAY Sports)
The most experienced name out of the group, the Bruins found a veteran AHL option with the signing of Jordan Oesterle to a two-year, two-way contract that carries a $775,000 cap hit at the NHL level.
A 32-year-old defenseman, Oesterle spent last year in the Calgary organization, and totaled two assists, 22 hits, and 33 blocked shots in 22 games for the Flames. In addition to his NHL contests with the Flames, Oesterle also made 30 appearances for Calgary’s AHL squad in 2023-24, with two goals and 19 points with the Wranglers.
An NHLer since the 2014-15 season, Oesterle has scored 19 goals and totaled 86 points over the course of a 10-year, 371-game career that’s included stops in Edmonton, Chicago, Arizona, Detroit, and Calgary. Oesterle’s best season over that run came back in 2018-19 when he set single-season career-highs in goals (six), assists (14), and points (20) in 71 games for the Coyotes.
The Michigan native seemingly projects to be the club’s replacement for veteran minor-league defenseman Dan Renouf, who departed the club as an unrestricted free agent earlier this week and as of Tuesday remains unsigned.
Mar 30, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Jakub Lauko (94) fights Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Billy Sweezey (6) during the second period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)
July 1 also came with a local addition (as is tradition, really) for the Bruins, with right-shooting defenseman and Hanson, Mass. native Billy Sweezey inked to a two-year, two-way contract. Like every other player in this bunch, Sweezey’s contract will come with a league minimum $775,000 cap hit at the NHL level.
Standing a 6-foot-2 and 205 pounds, Sweezey is most known for his physical, and has racked up 39 hits and 20 blocked shots in nine NHL games, all of which came with the Blue Jackets during the 2022-23 season. And if the name sounds familiar beyond the local connection, that’s because Sweezey dropped the gloves with then-Bruins winger Jakub Lauko when the Blue Jackets came to town late in the 2022-23 season.
Sweezey spent the entire 2023-24 season in the AHL, where he totaled one goal and four points, along with a plus-4 rating, in 57 games for AHL Cleveland.
