Boychuk Re-Signs With Boston

Bruins Sign Johnny Boychuk To A 3-Year Extension

Official Boston Bruins Press Release- BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has signed defenseman Johnny Boychuk to a three-year contract extension through the 2014-15 season. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be disclosed at this time.  So far this season, the 28-year-old Boychuk has played in 52 games with three goals and seven assists for 10 points. As of February 14th, he ranks second among B’s defensemen in plus/minus with a +23 on the season, trailing only Zdeno Chara. The +23 ranks eighth overall amongst skaters in the NHL.  In his first full season with the Boston Bruins in 2010-2011, he appeared in a career high 69 games with three goals and a career high 13 assists in the regular season. Boychuk skated in all 25 playoff games last season and collected nine points on three goals and six assists during Boston’s 2011 Stanley Cup Championship run.   In the 2009-2010 season split between the Providence Bruins and Boston, Boychuk skated in 51 regular season NHL games with five goals and 10 assists for 15 points. He spent most of the 2008-2009 season in Providence, where he led the team in scoring with 20-46=66 totals in 78 games with the P-Bruins. He set a Providence club record for points by a defenseman while leading all AHL defensemen in scoring, with 66 points and +19 rating on the season. That year, Boychuk was named the P-Bruins MVP and Best Defenseman, was awarded the AHL’s Eddie Shore Award (top AHL Defenseman), and was also named a First Team AHL All-Star.  For his career, Boychuk has played in 177 regular season NHL games with Boston and Colorado and has 41 points on 11 goals and 30 assists. He was originally drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the third round (61st overall) of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. Boychuk was acquired by Boston from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Matt Hendricks on June 24, 2008.

CONTRACT DETAILS: Length: 3 Years (2012-13 - 2014-15) Cap-Hit: $3,366,667 Pay-Out Details: 2012-13  $3,100,000 2013-14 $3,400,000 2014-15 $3,600,000 Contract Clauses: 7/1/ 2012 - 2/1/2013 Full No-Trade Clause 2/2/2013 - 6/30/2013 Modified No-Trade Clause: Player Supplies 8-Team Trade List 7/1/2013 - 5/31/2014 Modified No-Trade Clause: Player Supplies 15-Team Trade List

Reaction:

Another defenseman off the market, and a good one at that. Johnny Boychuk was one of the better pending UFAs and I am sure many teams around the National Hockey League are upset by this news. On the other end of the spectrum the Boston Bruins are very happy that they were able to lock-up one of the more underrated defenseman in the league. Boychuk was a key piece to the success the Bruins enjoyed throughout the playoffs last season. As anyone that watches him knows, his bone crushing hits can change the momentum of a game. Along with his physical play, his solid defensive awareness makes him a useful asset in key situations especially on the Penalty Kill where he has logged many minutes for the Bruins. 

In the open market I was expecting Boychuk to get a similar year length, but around  $1,000,000 more in annual earnings. Its definitely clear that he had no interest in changing clubs and he was willing to shave a few dollars off of his salary to make it work. The clauses in the contract are very interesting, but I think it further confirms that all he was looking for in this signing was as much stability as possible.