The Boston Bruins signed unrestricted free agent forward Jesper Boavist to a one-year, $775,000 pact on Wednesday, the team announced.
The 24-year-old was not issued a qualifying offer by the New Jersey Devils in late June; he recorded 10 goals and 21 points over 70 games in Newark last season.
With only one penalty taken, he earned three votes for the Lady Byng Trophy, which was won by Los Angeles Kings forward Anze Kopitar in 2022-23.
The Swede has played his entire career with the Devils after he was selected by the team with the 36th overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He produced 10 goals and 23 points across 56 games in 2021-22.
It’s been a busy offseason in Massachusetts since July 1; the team signed veteran forwards James van Riemsdyk and Milan Lucic when the free agency period opened, along with young center Morgan Geekie and well-travelled defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk.
Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno also saw their time with the Bruins come to an end, after the two were packaged and shipped to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for D-men Ian Mitchell and Alec Regula in late June.
The team continues to reel following the greatest regular season in NHL history in 2022-23, followed by a devastating seven-game Round 1 loss to the Florida Panthers back in April.
The Bruins recorded an outrageous 65 wins and 135 points, and were heavy favorites to win the Stanley Cup. But they were unable to close out the Cats after leading the series 3-1, and ended up being stunned by a Game 7 overtime goal by Carter Verhaeghe in front of an unbelieving crowd at TD Garden.
With the futures of heart and soul forwards Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci still up in the air, the team will look a ton different next season.
Jesper Boqvist will be a good addition to the middle-six of the Boston Bruins as they look to erase the memory of last year’s first-round collapse next season.
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