The Bruins have signed forwards Michael Eyssimont and Sean Kuraly to two-year contracts, Anthony Di Marco of Daily Faceoff reports. Eyssimont’s deal carries a $1.45MM cap hit while Kuraly’s carries a $1.85MM cap hit. They’ve also signed forward Matej Blumel to a one-way deal worth $875,000, per TSN’s Darren Dreger. That was first reported by Cam Robinson of Elite Prospects. Boston has additionally signed Alex Steeves to a one-year deal worth $850,000, per Di Marco.
In one fell swoop, the Bruins will shore up depth at forward with these moves. It’s headlined by Kuraly, who served the fourth-line center role in all 82 games of Columbus’ season. He was a bruising role player who handled the heavy defensive workload of Columbus’ bottom-six well. Kuraly recorded the highest faceoff percentage on the team (54.3 percent) and the third-most hits (163). He also chipped in 45 blocked shots, 17 points, and a minus-four across the full year.
Kuraly has been with the Blue Jackets for the last four seasons, but spent five years with the Bruins prior to his move to Ohio. Kuraly has manned a depth center role through all nine years of his NHL career, routinely rivaling a positive faceoff win-rare and 20 points in scoring. His career-year stands as the 2021-22 season – his first in Columbus – when Kuraly racked up a career-high 14 goals, 30 points, and 240 hits in 77 games played. He’ll return to Boston looking to continue offering a physical, impactful presence to the bottom of a lineup.
Boston will receive much of the same impact from winger Eyssimont, who racked up 16 points and 110 hits in 77 games this season, split between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken. It was a relatively quiet year for Eyssimont, intercut by a Trade Deadline move to the Kraken as part of a three-team trade that sent Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Tampa Bay. Eyssimont was much more impactful for the 2023-24 Tampa Bay Lightning. He ranked third on the team in hits (135) that year, to go along with 11 goals and 25 points in 81 games. He’s now through his fourth season in the NHL, and has totaled 56 points, 230 penalty minutes, and 352 hits in 213 career games. That averages out to 22 points and 136 hits per 82 games — a mark that should fit well alongside Kuraly.
With two bruisers added in, Boston will also take a run at the pure upside of Blumel. The 25-year-old winger racked up a staggering 39 goals and 72 points in 67 AHL games this season, just one point back from the league’s scoring title. He further added 16 points in 14 Calder Cup playoff games. It was an electric performance, spurred by Blumel’s high-energy style and ability to beat opponents on the rush. He flashed the same ability in each of the last two seasons. He totaled 31 goals and 62 points in 72 games last year, and 44 points in 58 games the year before. Across that span, Blumel has only received 13 appearances, and scored two goals, at the NHL level. That fact, mixed with his high scoring, could make him a breakout candidate among a Bruins bottom-six in need of a scorer.
If not Blumel, the Bruins could find hardy upside in Steeves, who has also potted impressive minor-league scoring over the last four seasons. Steeves reached a new career-high with 36 goals and 62 points in 59 games this season. That mark emphasized the 27 goals and 57 points he scored in 65 games last year, and 51 points in 65 games he scored in the year before. Steeves has stepped into a handful of games with the Maple Leafs dating back to 2021, though only as injury relief. He’s scored one goal and three points in 14 career performances. While Kuraly and Eyssimont offer a stout pair of heavy-hitting forwards, Steeves will serve as the center compliment to Blumel in Boston’s search for scoring upside.
Photo courtesy of Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports.
PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.
