Bruins sign Stephane Yelle

Today the Bruins announced that they have signed veteran center Stephane Yelle. Yelle played for the Calgary Flames last season and in 74 games scored 3 goals. He's not known as a scorer but as a good faceman, and a good two-way player who I think will bring some leadership to the Bruins dressing room. He has two Stanley Cup rings which he won with the Colorado Avalance. Yelle already knows Chuck Kobasew and Andrew Ference from their days with the Flames. I think this is a good move to give the Bruins more center depth and someone good at winning faceoffs. We all know during the playoffs you need players who can win faceoffs.

Bruins sign Egener and Stokes

Today it was announced that the Bruins have signed defensemen Mike Egener and Ryan Stokes to contracts, and terms of the deals was not disclosed.

Egener will be 24 years old this year, born in Germany, is 6'4", 213 lbs., and shoots left. He was originally drafted in the 2nd round (#34 overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2003 NHL entry draft. Looking at Egener's stats he is not a real offensive threat but looks like he is a tough guy as his PIM numbers are high. It's always good to have a tough defenseman.

Stokes is 25 years old, born in Ontario, is 6'4", 200 lbs., and shoots left. Looking at Stokes's stats he too is not a real offensive threat, and he too racked up a lot of penalty minutes so he seems to be another tough defenseman.

These two will probably be playing with the Providence Bruins to work on their game.

Bruins sign St. Pierre and Thompson

Yesterday the Bruins signed forwards Martin St. Pierre and Nate Thompson. The Bruins didn't release details on years or money on either deal. Thompson played in 4 games last season with the Bruins, but spent most of the season with the Providence Bruins where he scored 19 goals. You can read more about St. Pierre in a previous blog post.

Bruins buy out Glen Murray

Today it was announced that the Bruins have bought out veteran Glen Murray's final year on his contract. Murray is now a free agent and can sign with any team. As I said in a previous post I want to wish Murray the best as he was a class act with the Bruins organization all of those years.

Bruins acquire Martin St. Pierre

On Thursday, the Bruins announced that they traded forward Pascal Pelletier to the Chicago Blackhawks for center Martin St. Pierre. Last season Pelletier played in 6 games for the Bruins but did not record any goals or assists. Last season St. Pierre played in 5 games for the Chicago Blackhawks and also recorded no goals or assists. He played the majority for the AHL Rockford IceHogs where he played in 69 games, recording 21 goals, 67 assists, 88 points, and 80 PIMs. St. Pierre will be 25 years old this year, is 5'9", 185 lbs., was born in Ontario, and he shoots left.

Looking at St. Pierre's stats on HockeyDB.com, his stats show that he is more of play-maker than a scorer, but he can score. He is a smaller player so he should fit into the new NHL. I'm not sure he'll make the Bruins lineup but he'll get a chance to.